21
Apr

Should I pre-plan my funeral?

Once every couple of years a newspaper will run an article on the pros and cons of pre-planning/pre-paying for your funeral. They talk about tax effectiveness, after tax rates of return, investment risk and scams. In other words – they completely miss the point!

You make it easier on your loved ones

Pre-planning your funeral is a precious gift to your family. Arranging a funeral is a harrowing experience. The professional funeral directors at Heritage Funeral Centre see this every day. Distraught loved ones make irrational, often costly decisions. There are more than 70 details that need to be tended to in the first 24 hours after death. When you pre-arrange, you make those first 24 hours much easier for your loved ones. It can also save them money. The stress of last minute funeral arrangements often causes people to make hasty and unnecessary purchases.

Choose the way you will be remembered

Communicate your wishes. When you make funeral pre-arrangements you put your wishes on paper so that your loved ones will know exactly how to celebrate your life and honour your memory. You get to make the important decisions like burial or cremation; church service or an alternative.

Meet the funeral home and staff

Most pre-arranged funerals are purchased by those who believe they may need the service in the not too distant future. People who have had a change in health or simply reach an age where certain practical realities set in. It is comforting for them to visit the funeral home and meet the staff. It also gives staff some insight into the unique personality of the individual and can help them manage the funeral when the need arises. On many occasions the funeral directors at Heritage have visited individuals in their homes, often providing added comfort and peace of mind for those in deteriorating health.

Your Estate

When you are meeting with a professional funeral director they will also remind you to look after other aspects of your Estate. Do you have a Will? Have you named an Executor? Does your family know where to find important documents and other information?

Worry-free

Ontario has very strict consumer protection laws that govern the funeral industry. Pre-paid funerals must be guaranteed against future price increases. Furthermore they must be refundable and transferable to another funeral home. In the unlikely event your funeral home of choice is unable to deliver the funeral; there is a compensation fund available to ensure the same services are delivered by another funeral home.

One piece of advice

Unfortunately there are always undesirables hoping to prey on others.

• NEVER buy a pre-planned funeral online.
• NEVER buy a pre-planned funeral from a sales person unless they introduce you to the professional funeral directors at a reputable licensed funeral home.