10 Tips to Make Funeral Planning Easier, Part 2
Continued from 10 Tips to Make Funeral Planning Easier, Part 1
- Create a Living Trust
If you cannot take care of your own financial affairs, make sure your money-sucking relative does not do it for you by creating a living trust. In a living trust, which you can create online, you appoint a financial planner in the event you cannot take care of your own finances. This also allows you to transfer property to beneficiaries. - Think of Ways to Save Money
Funeral expenses add up quickly. Look at the cost for services and determine if there are any services you do not want or need. For example, if you do not care to have your body on display during a funeral service, consider a direct cremation or a direct burial. This will cut the costs of having your body embalmed and the need to purchase an expensive casket. - Pay for Your Funeral Now
Like the price of gold, the costs of funeral expenses are only rising. The advantage of prepaying for your funeral is that your family will not have to worry about expenses they may not be able to afford, they will not have to pay the difference in price if a funeral home’s services are more expensive in the future and you will have the type of funeral you want. - Sign a Disposition Authorization Form
When preplanning your funeral, sign a disposition authorization form that allows the funeral home of your choice to take care of your body according to your wishes without having to wait for further approval. Keep this form with your preplanning notes. - Look into Funeral Consumer Organizations
Consider joining a funeral consumer organization or society that helps its members with the funeral planning process, provides resources and recommends reputable funeral homes. Such an organization can help you find the best deals and can act as an advocate.
Like planning for your children’s future, thinking about your own is something you cannot neglect.
[photo: Caitlin Regan]
