Prepaid funerals have been around for years now and have received a lot of bad and unfair press in my opinion. This is due to the targeting and sensationalism of those isolated incidents we've all heard about, where funeral home and cemetery owners have either disappeared or otherwise stolen funds that people have paid in advance for services and/or merchandise. Unfortunately, often these stories and reports are only being over promoted to sell books, newspapers, etc. by those who really have no concept of what preneed funeral planning really is I believe. Sadly the very people who promote this blanket negativity are in actuality only doing so to serve their own agendas in many cases, thereby harming the very people who need this protection most by using these and other "scare tactics."
The truth is that in most all states now safeguards have been put in place to make sure that people who do preneed planning and prepay for funeral related services are protected. Is there opportunity for abuse in this area? Yes, but the reality is no more so than any other industry or profession where the same standards and opportunities for abuse would apply.
As a funeral director for nearly three decades, I've witnessed many changes in how preneed funeral plans were made and funded. In the early years of preneed funeral planning many funeral facilities, cemeteries, etc, would take prepaid funds and open accounts in local banks to be held in escrow until the time of need. This was the standard procedure for most in the funeral industry and set the stage for the abuses mentioned earlier. As time has gone by and due to abuses of this practice by the unscrupulous, other means of safeguarding those funds have been developed. Most firms now use insurance funding for those wishing to prepay for these services. The value of this method is that in most all cases the funds are placed in the purchasers name and controlled entirely by the purchaser. This provides the ultimate protection in that funeral providers have no access or control over these prepayments and most reputable facilities prefer it that way. The consumer is at no more risk of losing these funeral funds than with any other life insurance policies they may have in my opinion.
I have through my many years in the funeral industry assisted countless families in preplanning and often prefunding funeral services and merchandise. I have been privileged to serve these same families again when the death occurred. I have seen firsthand the value of not only preplanning but also prefunding for these families as in many cases it has meant savings of thousands of dollars in funeral expenses. In all my years in the death care industry I have never had a family tell me they were sorry they preplanned OR prefunded these services. On the other hand, I have had many families to tell me that they wish they had!
I urge anyone considering making preneed funeral and/or cemetery arrangements to really consider prefunding. Many firms offer price freeze and other benefits that are worth looking in to. The saving in many cases can be substantial and risks minimal.
If you're still skeptical, contact your state's funeral board and insurance commissioner to learn what safeguards you have when doing this type of prefunding. I think you will be pleasantly surprised to find that you're really at very little risk of losing any money now days and the benefits of doing this in advance are immeasurable for those you leave behind.
Last but not least, be wary of those advising you not to consider prefunding. Chances are great it will be an attempt to sell you something you really don't need. Get advice from those you trust and make your decisions based on that. It is really the best way to assure lower cost and less stressful funeral planning.
Jerry R. Guy is an active licensed funeral director and author. Advice on planning and preplanning funeral services can be found on his sites:
http://www.beforeplanningafuneral.com and
http://www.integritypreneedsolutions.com
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