3 Simple Tips for Prepaying for a Funeral

When it comes to prepaying for your funeral, you want to make sure it’s done right. There are a myriad of reasons to make sure that all your t’s are crossed and your i’s are dotted (If you still need convincing on preplanning and prepaying for your funeral, make sure to read our article 5 Reasons to Plan Your Own Funeral). To help with the process, we have 3 simple, but important tips to help you get started on the right track.

Know Who You Are Working With

Working with the right funeral home and team is an important step to making sure you have all the necessary information you need to make the best decisions. Consider how much experience they have with both preplanning funerals and prepaying for funerals. Ask questions to make sure that the person you are working with has the right knowledge it takes for your situation. You can even comparison shop with different providers. Take the time to find the right person to help with your preplanning and financing needs.

Know the Laws of Your State

The laws about funeral trusts (how you pay for a pre-planned funeral) differ from state to state. It is important that you at least have a baseline understanding of what your state’s laws are. For example, the state of Wisconsin and Minnesota have very specific rules that must be followed when it comes to pre-funding funerals. All monies prepaid for funeral/cremation services must be held in trust until services are performed.  That trust must be owned by the individual and the beneficiary of the trust must read “Any funeral home as their interest may appear” this is because WI and MN are 100% transfer states, so the individual can change their choice of funeral home at any time. This gives you and your family the protection and flexibility that you need (if you are a Wisconsin or Minnesota resident!). Make sure to do research in your state so you can ask your funeral home the right questions.

Know What a Guaranteed Trust Is

Funeral homes have the option of adding a guarantee to the trust. Not all funeral homes guarantee trusts. A NON guaranteed trust means that at the time of death you have the principal and interest of the trust to apply toward the cost of that funeral at the time of need.  It may or may not be sufficient to cover the cost and if it isn’t, the additional cost must be covered by the estate of the family.  A guaranteed trust means that the entire statement of goods and services will be provided at the time of death even if the trust has underperformed inflation.  So if the trust is not sufficient to cover the cost at the time of need, the funeral home covers the additional cost instead of the estate or the family.  In both the guaranteed and NON guaranteed trusts, any unused or excess funds in the trust belong to the estate of the individual. This means you will not waste money if you choose to prepay for your funeral via a trust. When you work with Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation, you can be be sure that we guarantee fully funded trusts.

Don’t just take out word for it, check us out for yourself! Visit our Planning Page for more information or contact our very own Brian Young. For well over a decade, Brian has been a licensed insurance agent for pre-funding funeral trusts and can answer any questions you may have about your funeral or a loved one’s funeral.

For more tips on the benefits and options for financing your own funeral, check out our recent blog posts: Financing Your Own Funeral: The Benefits & The Options.