Advance Funeral Planning information from Cremation Urns by Legacy

Advance Funeral Planning
One of the most caring acts we can provide to our loved ones is diminishing the stress of decision-making at the time of the death of a loved one. Use the Work Sheet below to record your funeral wishes.
The funeral gathering or memorial service are very important touchstones for your loved ones, providing the ceremony they need in order to feel that they have properly said goodbye, and enabling them to begin the ongoing process of healing and forever cherishing their memory of you.

Pre-Need Funding
In addition to recording all the decisions and details needed on the Work Sheet below, another aspect of your loving Advance Planning gesture is to have handled the business of pre-funding for the funeral arrangements of your choosing, alleviating financial strain at a time when this would be yet another layer of difficulty on top of deep emotional distress.
There are several ways to go about taking care of funeral funding ahead of time:

• Establish a contract with a Licensed Funeral Director that acts as a Trust Fund
• Purchase a Life Insurance policy from a Life Insurance company that will cover the funeral
• Open a Savings Account at your bank for funeral expenses, and designate it "Payable upon Death" to the Funeral Home of your choice

Each option has its advantages. To find Funeral Providers with Preneed Insurance, please go to our Cremation Information page.
When considering the options for Advance Funeral Planning, here are some good questions to ask:

• Who receives the interest on the account?
• Who has to pay the taxes on the interest?
• Is the pre-payment ever refundable?
• What are my options if I should move?
• Can the Plan be used at a Funeral Home of my choice?
• What happens if the Funeral Home is sold or goes out of business?
• Are the costs locked in, and guaranteed not to increase?

ADVANCE FUNERAL PLANNING WORK SHEET

Here is a Work Sheet that can be used to gather the information needed for your Advance Funeral Planning records.
It will be much easier for your family if these details are kept all together in one place, perhaps in an envelope in a desk or another place of safe-keeping.
Simply fill it in, print it out, seal and mark it in an envelope, and inform a family member of its whereabouts.
If you have other documents or assets like a Will, a Life Insurance policy, or a CD with the music that you would like to be played at your Memorial Service, include these in the same location.

Download the Work Sheet in a printer-friendly PDF format: Advance Funeral Planning Work Sheet
(Note: To be able to view and print this Work Sheet you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. You can download and install Adove Acrobat reader for free from here).

We hope this guide to Advance Funeral Planning will be useful. If you need further information, it can likely be found on our Cremation Info page, and with any other questions, please contact us at service@Cremation-Urns-Legacy.com.