What Should I Do When Planning For A Funeral?

Planning for a funeral is never an enjoyable thing to do but there are some basic rules which you must follow to make sure that you get what you’re paying for and exactly what you expect. Follow our basic checklist to make sure that you’re on the right track:

Planning Checklist

• Shop Funeral Homes – don’t accept the first price that you’re given. Check out at least a couple of funeral homes and remember that you don’t have to buy your casket or urn from the funeral home, you can buy it from another source and they still have to accept it – at no extra charge.
• Check the Price List – all funeral homes are required by law to give you a fully itemized and detailed price list if you ask for one, so ask – it’s as simple as that!
• Don’t be Bullied – don’t buy any goods or services that you don’t really want (or don’t actually need). Be strong and hold firm.
• Resist Over Emotional Spending – you don’t need to buy the most expensive casket or hold the most elaborate service to show how much you loved someone – it’s simply not necessary.
• Know Your Rights – there are different laws in different states so don’t be afraid to find out your rights where you are so that you know exactly what you do have to purchase as well as what you don’t.
• Smart Shopping – let’s be honest, a funeral is a major purchase so don’t be afraid to apply some of the shopping techniques you would use on other things. Why not limit the viewing time (this can cut down costs) or have the deceased dressed in a favorite outfit instead of buying some costly burial robes.
• Plan Ahead – let’s face it, this will give you much more time to shop around without the time constraints of an imminent funeral. It also gives you the opportunity of discussing your wishes with your family and takes a little of the strain from them when the time inevitably comes.

Planning for a Funeral Checklist

If you’ve had the forethought to plan for the financial aspect of your funeral, well done, but you’re still not home and dry yet. Here are one or two other things which you need to be sure of:

• Do you have enough money to meet the expenses of your final wishes? You really can’t hope for some elaborate, all singing all dancing traditional funeral with a minority budget, and that just wouldn’t be fair on those you’ve left behind.
• Have you left any insurance policies where they will easily be found – or better still told someone where they are? It’s no good organizing the whole shooting match and not telling anybody, they might pay for it all over again and do something completely different.
• Have you thought about paying the policy off in full (beats having to think about monthly payments for a start).
• Have you got the best policy rates, or did you just take the first quote that came along?
• Will you be able to add to the coverage in the future – if you want to?

Just stick to these simple rules and it will hopefully make an emotional time just that little easier to deal with.

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Final Expense insurance (aka funeral insurance) is a basic issue life insurance policy that covers people until they reach 100 years old. Final Expense insurance (also known as funeral insurance) is promoted as a way to pay in advance for your funeral expenses so that your loved ones won’t have to pay for your funeral. There are many things you can do to make your death easier on the wallets of those you love. Planning for a funeral saves money and grief, as well as deciding whether you want to be buried in a casket or cremated and put into and urn, figuring out who gets what part of your estate and all the related turmoil associated with the end of life.

Return to the Final Expense Insurance Information FAQ page.