Utah Insurance License Number: 88816         Pre-Need Sales Agent Number: 325672-5802

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This agency only works with local, privately-owned funeral homes. This means you will be dealing with a trusted member of your community, not some distant corporation only worried about a bottom line.

Why Pre-paying For A Funeral Is Vital: All the Important Reasons






Updated August 26, 2016





I've been saying throughout this Web site that funeral homes and funeral plans are mostly over-priced and that if you buy into a ten-year plan in most cases you are going to pay too much and get "buffaloed." This sounds almost like "don't buy a funeral plan" and just invest your money instead. But this is not so. You'll most likely lose in that case also. See my other Web page.

What does it mean today to "keep money invested"? Seniors today are scared about where to invest, given the many market debacles. Too many have expected high rates of return on their investments, only to find out in the long run they lost money. And the "safe" bank CDs and money market accounts, which are not totally safe at all, have been paying very low interest or rates of return (average around 1% for almost a decade as of August 2016). Read my other Web page for a further explanation of the supposed "safety" of financial institutions.



I have studied the cost of funerals from the big name "chains," as well as popular private funeral homes, since 1992. The cost of a full funeral service with these typical funeral homes on average almost DOUBLES every ten years. The prices I've tracked increase about 6.32% per year.



To do better than that rate of inflation, your money has to earn 7%+ per year, year after year. If it doesn't, you lose. At this rate of 6.32% per year, by 2024 the cost of a funeral service (no casket) will be $10,029. By then, the low-end average casket should be around $3,000, for a total funeral cost (no vault or burial items) of over $13,000. Add in burial items and miscellaneous costs and you easily are over $20,000.





The only way to win is to set up a funeral plan that "freezes" or guarantees at today's cost as much of the funeral as possible. And don't wait. The sooner you start your plan, the better off you'll be. If you have been setting aside funds for your funeral, NOW is the time to put your money into a plan with a single payment. See my other page about single payments and early payoffs.

According to the AARP:

A sizeable portion of the 50+ population (34%) has engaged in some preplanning, and just under a quarter of individuals ages 50+ (23%) have prepaid at least a portion of funeral or burial expenses for themselves or someone else.

Download the entire 36-page report:

AARP Funeral Survey




Awaking to the First Reality



When you live in a Metropolitan area such as Salt Lake City, the expensive high-profile and chain funeral homes spend a lot of money promoting the fact that you will be well-served using them and that price increases year after year are just a fact of life. The reality is that there are numerous funeral service providers who will give you high quality service at a lower price, sometimes half the cost, without your family sacrificing anything. The whole matter of a funeral and burial will happen and be over quickly. But over-paying is something you might have to live with for a long time.




Highly qualified people within the industry are well aware of the greed factor and how seniors and their families are being pillaged to the hilt on the total cost of a funeral. These same highly qualified people are the ones who "defect" and form their own companies with better prices and better guarantees of individualized, error-free service. These people are not unqualified, incompetent freaks--the picture the high-profile funeral homes want to paint. They are legitimate competition. I have analyzed, surveyed, and questioned these "other" funeral service providers, and I have found some excellent values. These are not flash-in-the-pan operations with no enduring value. They have plenty of experience. In the Salt Lake area, hands down, Premier Funeral Services has the best value for your money. They've conducted well over 3,000 funerals and their reputation continues to grow better--drawing more and more business away from the over-priced operations. I have a contract whereby I can "freeze" most of your costs with Premier Funeral Services and several alternative funeral homes. I have sold over 200 plans for Premier with all as happy customers. They are the best value in the Salt Lake-Provo area, but my study went far beyond Utah. I found similar operations throughout the United States.





One of the Biggest Legitimate Fears

Jim Chambers, on one of his Web pages entitled "How to Not Suck...At Pre-Paying for Your Funeral" warns:
"To relieve some of the stress that comes during this emotional time, some people choose to buy pre-paid funeral packages. The not-yet-deceased can lay out their wishes, pick their own caskets and gravesites, or choose cremation, and pay for it all long before they’ve bitten the dust.

Or, that’s what they think. Unfortunately and all too often, relatives learn that the pre-paid packages arranged by their loved one are far from complete, and more cash-ola will be due before the last shovel of dirt is moved."
Some families are, in fact, paying more at the time of need. This happens even in better scenarios because the plan wasn't layed out properly in the first place. The person who helps you set up a plan needs to have a great deal of knowledge and experience to help ensure that a big bill isn't due that will shock and distress your family, who thought "everything was covered."

I know exactly how to do this. I can show you not only how to pay less and get more for your money. But I can also help you account for all the final costs in advance with a great deal of accuracy. This will enable you to outline in writing what will still be due, or we can put together one plan that will cover 100% of it. One of the most important questions I ask families is "Do you want to make sure your kids or family don't have to come up with any money at all, or are you just looking for certain costs to be predetermined or guaranteed in advance, where you draw the line now"? Many funeral plans are sold with only the "guaranteed" items included and the non-guaranteed items aren't properly dealt with. This doesn't have to happen to your family.

I explain on this Web site how $5,000 will, if you plan it properly, use the right funeral service provider and funding company, cover everything (except headstone or grave marker), if you already own burial plots and want a traditional church or graveside service. I have worksheets to outline all the costs coming due. It is best done with my help, but you can get started on this right now by downloading some worksheets from this site. The two most useful forms are the two listed first: Final Wishes Summary and Funeral Plan Worksheet. These will enable you to zero on all the possible final costs so there will be no "surprises."

Funeral Homes and Cemeteries Create Their Own "Inflation"

The chart on this page shows the funeral inflation rate from 1992 to 2009. You can beat this by "freezing" the cost of your service, casket, burial vault, and/or cremation. The hardest to beat is what the cemetery will charge for labor at the time of need. They can raise those prices as high as they'd like in the future. Only some memorial parks and cemeteries allow you to pre-pay, and thus freeze, labor charges (opening and closing of grave and setting of the vault). These are separate contracts with them. Some are expensive. Call the cemetery where you have spaces to see if this a good option for you. Otherwise, my survey of cemetery costs in the Salt Lake area allows you to predict with some accuracy what labor charges will be in the future. $1,000 invested in a funeral plan with growing cash value tax-free will be, in most cases, enough to eliminate the worry of a big bill being due at the time of need for labor charges. See also my cemetery page.

More You Need to Know

The death industry—those companies who operate for a profit to care for a person’s remains after they die—sometimes use manipulative selling techniques to increase and maximize their profits at a time when families are in a state of emotional distress and grieving. Unless a family is aware of the facts regarding what their options are, facts that would enable them to defend themselves against manipulation and over-charging, they can be victims of practices that focus more on profit than caring. Although funeral service providers, cemeteries, and crematoriums must usually operate to make a profit, they are obligated to offer the best they are capable of providing--within the spending limits of families. These providers should never, under any circumstances, take advantage of the situation (death) when those who have the funds are more easily deceived and persuaded. You need to know exactly what to do and say to prevent it. This can only be accomplished when no death has occurred. It is best thought out well before any possibility of death becomes real. This applies to “preneed” and “at need” arrangements.

Kenneth V. Iserson, MD says in his book:

How Could Preneed Sales Be Improved?

    “Preneed plans clearly need improvement, being one of the most frequent subjects of complaint to regulatory agencies. Because of this, at least eleven states, including California, Florida and Illinois have enacted stricter laws to control abuses in the sale of preneed funeral plans.

    Investigating preneed plans, the Arizona Auditor General found that although these plans do allow the consumer to shop around, purchase the type of funeral he desires, and minimize distress for loved ones at the time of death, ‘consumers who purchase preneed funeral plans do not always receive merchandise or services purchased.’ He found that while, on the average, preneed plans save consumers about $400 in funeral expenses, the plans are vulnerable to abuse, especially since the untutored purchasers and the often lengthy and complex contracts ‘offer great opportunity for misrepresentation.’ Part of the problem may stem from the two ways individuals can pay for preneed plans. The first is to make one payment for all specified services. The second method involves paying a specified amount, but the funerary services at death depend on the amount of money and interest accrued in the account. This leads to many misunderstandings.

    Consumers would be better protected in preneed funeral purchases if any preneed contract clearly included: (1) a list of the specific funeral services and merchandise included, (2) any provisions for substitution of goods and services, (3) the disposition of the funds paid and the treatment of accrued interest, and (4) a mandatory “cooling off” period during which the purchaser can void the contract without penalty.

    The preneed acquisition of funeral services and cemetery lots avoids pressuring survivors into making a quick purchase at the time of need. Preneed cemetery lot purchase may be useful for families who are settled in one location. Yet, as Ernest Morgan suggested, ‘the moral is look around, investigate all possibilities, do your own buying, and don’t let a smooth salesman push you about.’”

    Kenneth V. Iserson, MD, Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies? 1994

I address every one of these concerns on this Web site, so your family cannot make any mistakes.

Learn what to do and what not to do in almost every conceivable situation where you are to pay money for death services. You can disallow any deception or manipulation from the outset by arming yourself with the right knowledge and tools. On this Web site you will find many forms, worksheets, and strategies based on facts that will enable you to plan everything with accuracy from beginning to end.



It is the ignorance that “vultures” and “death merchants” prey upon. You don’t have to be ignorant any longer. I have done all your homework for you. Twenty-three years of practical experience setting up preneed and final expense insurance plans for families, especially those families of limited financial means, has led to this exposé covering all the ins and outs of final expense planning. All the research has been an unbiased insistence on truth. You will see a view of all the funeral homes at once, which is not what you usually get when you allow a sales representative to “educate” you (usually in your kitchen or living room for two hours or less). This Web site provides you with the opportunity to think everything through for a very long time before you commit any money to a plan--while you look at many alternatives.

Should I Prepay For a Funeral?

The simple answer to that question is “yes”—once you know how to do it correctly. It can so easily done wrong and expensively. In some cases, in fact, pre-paid funerals can be “raw deals” to the core. But if planned and paid for with the right knowledge under your belt, they can be well worth paying for. In his book Profits of Death, Darryl Roberts says, “Death and the consequences of dealing with death are most often ignored until one has no alternative. But by then, the death merchants have us right where they want us—vulnerable, emotional, susceptible, and with checkbooks in hand.” p.10

“I cannot overemphasize how important it is for everyone to do as much preplanning and prepaying of their funeral and cemetery needs as possible. This is the best way in which the consumer can reduce the high cost of dying (in my own experience, I found that most people will spend about a third less when making prearrangements than at a time of need) and avoid the stress of making the arrangements on an at-need basis. Also, it has the additional advantage of helping make certain that you will get the type of funeral and disposition you want.” p.159

Darryl J. Roberts, Profits of Death: An Insider Exposes the Death Care Industries, 1997 (featured on “60 Minutes").

Another way to look at it is that if you don’t prepay for a funeral, it greatly increases the chances that your family will overpay or overspend—which is normally undesirable. You can only prevent this by prepaying in a way that either locks in the prices as per a “guarantee” contract or a plan that spells out the quality of your services and merchandise as specifically as possible.

To simply say “we have enough insurance to cover it” can be foolish, unless you have estate money you’re willing to waste. When someone says they have enough to cover it, what they really mean is “we have enough to overspend and don’t care what other burdens we leave.” Whether or not you have enough money or insurance to cover it is not the issue. After all, even rich people like to get high quality at the best cost and not get “taken.” And no one should leave vague, incomplete instructions when they had the power to do otherwise.

A funeral, burial, cremation, or other arrangement should be planned and funded by you and your family in advance. The funeral director or salesperson should only enter the picture later, after you have done a lot of figuring and discussing of your own. You can do this best with worksheets, tables, guidelines, forms, and objectively-obtained facts, which you will find here.

By following the right steps, you can know with a great deal of certainty that you have looked at all the angles.

Utah's Best Funeral Value:
caskets Premier Funeral Services Web site About Premier Funeral Services NGL Home Page





You should SAVE MONEY by using your church, not pay the same or more. The bottom line is how to not overspend on funerals, without sacrificing any quality of either service or merchandise. You can reduce the cost of a funeral with just about any funeral home you have in mind, using what’s on this Web site. But you can do even better if you know which funeral service providers will give you a big discount for using your church or other facility of your choosing and which are not clearly over-priced.



I have set up over 240 plans in the past four years alone that pay for a full traditional service with casket included for around $3,000.00—half of what most funeral homes charge. You use your church, a reception center, a lodge, the graveside, or some other location you arrange. No sacrifices! Just a better plan for your money.

All plans are guaranteed portable, including cash value growth as long as you’re alive. Never at any time is your money trapped with a funeral home where it is hard to get out.

Your money stays safely deposited with National Guardian Life, a large life insurance company, until you pass away, a company in business since 1909. You can change whom you want to use for a funeral at any time. We have 1-3-5-7-10 year plans, with full insurance coverage should something happen before you make all the payments, and always a discount for making a single payment or paying off your plan early. And always with growing cash value tax-free.

Let me show you in detail in your home how to outline your final wishes and preferences in the best way possible. Let me show you the best plan for your money and how easy it is to put together in one meeting.



Don’t wait to start your plan. Start your plan and wait.

We can have the whole matter of funeral planning and funding done in about 90 minutes. Whether you have just $30 a month to start a plan, have cash set aside, or anywhere in between, we can find the right plan with the right funeral home for the right total cost. We can get in writing the most important details of what needs to be done so no mistakes are ever made.


No Funeral Home Pays Me Any Money

I make less money showing you better alternatives. This money is paid to me by the funding company I use, National Guardian Life. Funeral homes pay me nothing. No bonuses or commissions are paid to me for promoting any particular funeral service provider.

I have my choice of which funeral homes I can represent. These days, I am very picky. I no longer can be lured by bonus money offered by the expensive funeral homes. Let them and their agents bilk seniors. I am only interested in giving your family the best deal for your money, period. I have a handful of funeral service providers (homes) that I would highly recommend. Premier Funeral Services, serving Salt Lake, Davis, and Utah counties, and even in neighboring states, is the best value for your money that I can see. I have written well over 200 plans for Premier in the past four years alone.

Are You Worried About Where You Money Will Go With A Funeral Plan?

The law is very strict. You can’t pay any money to a funeral home until someone has passed away. This means, in the meantime, your money has to stay deposited somewhere else until the time comes. 90% of all prepaid funerals are funded by life insurance companies who are specifically in the final expense and funeral funding business. I use National Guardian Life, the largest of its kind. They have been in business since 1909. I explain in other pages on this site how their funding plans compare to those of most funeral homes in Utah use.

Not only are their rates on plans up to ten years the best, here are some other reasons your money should be with NGL:

    · They offer a discount for paying for your plan with a single check (“cash”)—which most funeral funding life insurance companies do not.
    · They have an EARLY PAYOFF discount that allows you to pay your plan off at any time at a discount of what it would have cost you had you stayed with the full term of the plan. Most companies want to lock you into a plan for the full term so they can get more money out of you.
    · You get insurance that will pay off your plan should something happen to you prematurely with NO DISQUALIFYING HEALTH QUESTIONS. Everyone qualifies.
    · You can exchange any paid up insurance or funeral plans for a National Guardian Life plan at no cost to you. Then your family can have money left over to use as you see fit. Or you can set up a better, less expensive plan than the one you have with no need to make any more payments.
    · In NGL’s Funeral Expense Trust, your money is protected from creditors, nursing homes, lawyers, and everyone—it is completely UNTOUCHABLE and safe.
I get tired of learning how senior citizens are being taken advantage of. Many of them are buried with medical expenses and fixed incomes. Fortunately, I’ve been able to rescue some, and even reverse the course they were on. I can often get you out of a bad deal, put you into another, and you won’t lose any of what you’ve already invested. How exactly I can do that depends on your situation.

Already paid too much for a pre-paid funeral? I may be able to get you some of your money back, and you’ll still get the same thing you paid for besides. Most often, I can save you about $2,500.00.

Let’s go over your situation and do things the RIGHT WAY.

Combine National Guardian Life funding with an affordable funeral home, and you have the best value for your money. $4,500.00 for EVERYTHING (not including burial plots and vaults), and a payment under $50.00 a month.

Don’t be duped into believing that “funerals are expensive.” They’re only expensive if you talk to the WRONG PEOPLE! Talk to the right people. Only talk to those people who have YOUR interests in mind, not the interests of the company or who are thinking about their big commissions and bonus money.

Meet with me just one time, and I’ll take care of it in the best way.







Some of Darryl Roberts' advice from his book Profits of Death:

"The key to controlling future funeral and cemetery costs is to arrange and pay for them in advance."

"...people will purchase more in an emotionally charged at-need moment than they will in a calmer and more stable pre-need moment."

"Pre-planning is absolutely the best thing you can do to ensure that you get the final arrangements you want and save money at the same time."

"In my opinion, insurance policies are the best way to go. The insurance industry is highly regulated. Also, insurance companies are typically more balanced and more stable than most death merchants. Even when insurance companies go bankrupt, state and federal agencies come to the rescue of policyholders. Certainly the same cannot be said of funeral homes and cemeteries!"

The only advisor with the qualifications needed to give good advice about funeral planning is one who has extensive experience in the industry. I have written many hundreds of funeral, burial and cremation plans over 23 years, and it has not been for just one company. I have represented large and small operations, totally honest and somewhat crooked operations. I have been in the trenches and seen every tactic used in the interest of making money, even at the expense of families. I have studied and adhered to the standards of the National Funeral Directors Association. I have applied my education in accounting to the numbers that pertain to funeral planning and the related life insurance funding. With me it's "always about the money," but it's about YOUR money. It's not about whether or not I'm making money for the funeral home or the funding company. It's about zeroing in on the best value for your money.

See my other Web page Which Plans Are REALLY Best for Most Seniors?

And look at these Web pages on the Internet also:

Should You Prepay Your Own Funeral Expenses?

Let Your Legacy Be Peace Of Mind, Not Debt

What is the Difference Between Life Insurance and Funeral Plans?







Internet Resources to Do More Homework





I have set up over 150 plans in the past three years alone that pay for a full traditional service with casket included for around $3,000.00-half of what most funeral homes charge. You use your church, a reception center, a lodge, the graveside, or some other location you arrange. No sacrifices! Just a better plan for your money. And your casket and services costs are FROZEN. This applies to other plans that include cremation. All the factors discussed on this page make my funeral plans no-brainers.

All plans are guaranteed portable, including cash value growth as long as you're alive. Even though you may have designed your plan around the prices of one particular funeral home, the funds can be used at another that charges similarly or less so you get the same result if your plans change. In any case, your money is never stuck with a funeral home where you have to pay a penalty for withdrawing that money. You don't have to worry about getting any money back from a funeral home, because your money is safely deposited with a large insurance company. And no current or past health condition can disqualify you from the insurance plan.


Your money stays safely deposited with a large life insurance company until you pass away, a company in business since 1909. www.nglic.com. You can change whom you want to use for a funeral at any time. We have 1-3-5-7-10 year plans, with full insurance coverage should something happen before you make all the payments, and always a discount for making a single payment or paying off your plan early. And always with growing cash value tax-free.

Our average ten-year plan at most ages is around $33.00 a month. Compare that to what other funeral homes you may have had in mind can offer you. The average funeral plan in the Salt Lake area on a ten-year plan is around $80.00 per month per person.

Let me show you in detail in your home how to outline your final wishes and preferences in the best way possible. Let me show you the best plan for your money.

I don't need your Social Security number. There is a major funeral funding company based in the Salt Lake area that owns many mortuaries and cemeteries that insists on getting your Social Security number when you set up a plan with them. Don't fall for this. That number is only needed for a death certificate, not for a funeral or burial plan. National Guardian Life does NOT require your Social Security number. Turn down any plan that does.

Get professional, personalized service at the right price, on the best terms.

    UtahsFuneralPlanningSite.com serves the funeral and funeral planning market in the Salt Lake City, Utah area. Our goal is to help you plan a funeral in as much detail as possible well in advance. This website provides the tools you need to pay for funerals the right way, so affordable funerals don’t end up being a sacrifice but instead a more comfortable reality. We offer or point you to Utah's best funeral prices and lowest cost for funeral plans, which can include caskets and burial vaults, and final expense whole life insurance, especially for seniors with bad health and with low incomes. You will be able to not only outline your final wishes with accuracy, but you will know exactly how to calculate and control the cost of a funeral (church, mortuary chapel, or graveside), the cost of a burial, and, if applicable, cremation options. You will not become the victim of funeral rip-offs, over-priced caskets, or plans that don’t suit your family’s true needs and budget. There will be no confusion in your family at the time of need concerning arrangements. Once you have done things correctly, they will know where the line has been drawn on spending for your final expenses, and no mistakes will be made.