Is it possible to give our home to our church in exchange for funeral expenses?

A fellow caregiver asked...

My wife and I are ill, so in case of our death we would like to leave our home to our church, in exchange they will pay all our funeral expenses. Would this be possible even though we still owe on our home?

Expert Answer

You should be able to make arrangements with your church to leave it (or them) you home. with it/them agreeing to pay your funeral expenses. You'd be best protected with a formal, written agreement, perhaps some form of a charitable trust. Your church should be able to help you with this, or at least direct you to someone who could help you. After all,you would, I gather, clearly be helping your church financially overall. Funeral costs are extremely unlikely to come near to the value of your house. you would leave to the church. Depending on your finances, you might also consider prepaying for your funeral costs. Or working out some other arrangement with a funeral home so that they would eventually be paid