How to Take Complete Control of Funeral and Cremation Planning
Those who are taken advantage of by funeral service and cremation providers are those who did not take control early on. Those who pay too much lacked the foresight and discipline to plan correctly. This doesn't need to be you and your family. Despite how distasteful it is to plan to pay for funerals and cremation, it can be done painlessly and without unnecessary complications. I am going to explain as briefly as I can how you can take control and not spend too much money. You can prevent your family from having to come up with money they may or may not have. You can be assured also that your family is completely satisfied with the quality of service and merchandise they receive.
I am going to distill over 21 years of experience into one short explanation. You can go into much more detail by reading my free
eBook
,
How to Prepay Funerals and Final Expenses
, which can be downloaded from this Web site. I am working on an updated and revised version to be completed later this year.
Worrying about it only when the "time comes" is a huge mistake. "I'm not going to be around."
Someone
is going to be around who will have to deal with it. YOU need to deal with it. And if your funds are limited or if you just don't believe in paying too much, I am going to show you how to do it.
First, recognize that privately--owned (often family-owned and operated) funeral homes give you a better chance of getting what you want at the right price. "Chains" and publicly-traded funeral and burial service operations are usually priced higher than private companies with a lesser guarantee of high quality, personalized service. They are a bigger risk. The reasons are explained in my book.
I've done a lot of research for you, to save you the trouble. Below is a survey I just did February 10, 2014 of funeral homes. It shows you what Salt Lake area facilities are charging for traditional funeral services at a church or mortuary chapel, graveside, or cremation only with no services. There are other possibilities, but these are the three main categories.
(CH) means the company is part of a chain and (P) means it is privately-owned.
Funeral Provider
Type
Traditonal Service
Graveside Service
Direct Cremation
Wasatch Lawn
CH
$6,150
$5,550
$1,200
Valley View Memorial
CH
$6,055
$5,455
$1,200
Independent Funeral Service
P
$4,505
$4,505
$1,135
Larkin Mortuary
P
$4,495
$3,795
$2,040
Neil O'Donnell & Sons
P
$4,350
$4,175
$1,625
Russon Brothers
P
$4,325
$3,950
$2,345
McDougal Funeral Home
P
$4,318
$4,238
$1,435
Jenkins-Soffe
P
$4,295
$3,295
$1,295
Lindquist Mortuary
CH
$4,095
$3,720
$1,350
Goff Mortuary
P
$3,900
$3,250
$1,550
Starks Funeral Parlor
P
$3,600
$3,400
$1,400
Broomhead Funeral Home
P
$3,490
$2,975
$1,195
Cannon Mortuary
P
$3,295
$2,550
$1,295
Peel Funeral Home
P
$3,200
$2,950
$995
Garner Funeral Home
P
$2,695
$2,595
$1,195
Premier Funeral Services
P
$1,995
$1,695
$750
Serenicare
P
$1,970
$1,695
$875
All the "chains" are higher than the average in price ($3.927.15), and they are not your best bet for high quality service. The prices for traditional and graveside services do not include a casket. The direct cremation prices are with minimal containers, no cremation caskets or urns. These are "packages" that include all the things that most people want in a funeral or cremation. In a traditional service, include are:
Transportation of the deceased from place of death to mortuary, refrigeration, embalming, cosmetics, dressing ("casketing"), arrangement, professional staff services, use of facility for viewing and/or services (or other facility) and conducting services, hearse (funeral coach), utility vehicle, and miscellaneous overhead.
I recommend
Premier Funeral Services
not only due to price, but I know the ownership's philosophy and methods of operation. I have written 149 plans for Premier over the past three years, in additional to plans for other funeral homes families prefer. Premier is an excellent value for your money. There are others toward the end of that list that are very good values also. I can fund for many of these companies if you have a definite preference, usually on better terms than they can. I have been a representative of or funded for at least half of the above companies over the years, including McDougal, Cannon, Memorial Mortuaries, Valley View, Jenkins-Soffe, and some others.
Pre-paid funeral plans must be funded through an insurance company that is specifically in the business of final expense and funeral funding. The only other option funeral homes have is to use a trust fund that a funeral home sets up, which most choose not to do due to costs. The insurance company is used to protect your money and also provide you with insurance benefits. It used to be that you could just set up a contract with a funeral home to provide merchandise and services in the future, but this option no longer exists. Too many funeral homes were taking families' money and not investing it properly or setting it aside in any way. And too many funeral homes got into financial trouble, and families lost their investment in the "funeral plan." This can't happen any more. Your money stays safely with a life insurance company, the most strictly regulated and sound financial institution in the world. I chose the company I believe to be the best of its kind, National Guardian Life, in business since 1909. Others include Great Western Insurance Company (Utah-based), Security National Life (parent company of Memorial Estates), Forethought, Homesteader's Life, etc.).
Once you have a funeral home or funeral service provider in mind, understand what can be "guaranteed" in advance, that is, which costs can be "frozen." Understand which costs cannot be frozen. This is the cause of much misunderstanding as to why funeral plans "didn't cover everything like they were supposed to." Once you know what can be guaranteed on a contract with a funeral home and what cannot, planning becomes relatively easy. The next step is to put together a complete list of costs. The National Funeral Director's Association does surveys to determine what average costs are throughout the United States. Below is one such survey done in 2009.
This is an accurate study. With a burial and its associated costs, the total average cost for everything is close to $10,000. Many of you probably have the cemetery property paid for and perhaps the vault. In the above survey, then, the total average cost for a funeral service is around $4.137. The average I calculated in my small survey (above) is $3.927. The casket average in the NFDA study is $2,295, and the burial vault is $1,195.
GOOD NEWS. You don't have to pay this much. These are "averages." Funeral homes like to keep prices as high as they can get away with, especially on items such as caskets. I elaborate on this in my book. It is also well-stated in Daryll Robert's book Profits of Death. His family owned cemeteries and mortuaries for decades, and he was an "insider" who exposed the industries often deceptive and manipulative practices. To prove funeral homes over-charge for caskets, just consider the fact that
Costco
sells caskets. Why does Costco sell caskets? Simple.
Funeral homes charge too much for their caskets, usually at a time when families are in an emotional state and are unprepared to do any shopping. Funeral homes will induce families to purchase caskets that cost around $3,000, and funeral home pre-need salespeople will do the same.
I have caskets of high quality for much less money.
You can also get a full funeral service package for less than the national average of $4,137. Notice on my survey that there are a number of providers well below $3,000 for a full traditional service. Use one of them, combined with a better source and price for your casket, and you have a better funeral plan.
Realistically, you can get a guaranteed pre-paid funeral in the Salt Lake area with a casket included for well under $4,500, rather than the $7,000 you'll pay if you haven't done your homework. But I've done your homework for you. I have a full funeral service with a casket included for around $3,000 through Premier Funeral Services.
Below is a list of average non-guaranteed items. These are things not always accounted for. This list assumes you have a funeral, casket, and burial vault paid for.
This is where "coming up with more money" surprises families. These costs should be factored into your plans. The other issue with funeral homes and families becoming angry is when they to get you to "upgrade" what you have, something your family doesn't have to fall for.
The above list of non-guaranteed items is only an estimate, but on a plan I can set up for you, we can factor in those things. We can add an additional amount to a guaranteed plan of, say, $1,500, and it will grow in cash value while invested with the funding company as long as you're alive. This will help eliminate the shock of coming up with a lot more money at the time of need.
Here's the bottom line of what I can do for you. A have a full traditional funeral with a casket included for $2,990. I can add another $1,500 for additional costs. If you don't have a burial vault paid for, I can guarantee one in the plan for $795. Total cost: $2,990--$5,285, not $6,225-- $9,100.
If all you have is a burial space and a burial vault, I can take care of the rest of what you need (including non-guaranteed items) with a $5,000 plan. We fund it with National Guardian Life's Funeral Expense Trust. Compare investing the same $5,000 with Security National Life or Forethought.
At age 65, a $5,000 plan will only cost $56.65 a month on a ten-year plan, which comes with an early payoff discount. If you've had serious health problems, you still qualify for a plan (even terminal illness). The payment at age 65 in that case would only be $57.90 a month.
If you want only a casket and service, the payment would be around $34.00 a month for a $2,990 plan.
Compare all this to what most of the high-profile funeral homes can do for you. I believe I have the best funeral plan on the market. I would not stay in this business if I could not do this or come close to doing this. Let me help you do it right from the beginning, so no mistakes are made.
If you can afford $35 a month and don't have a funeral paid for yet, meet with me. Don't waste any time with the other funeral home representatives. All the plans I set up are portable and can be used with any funeral home. Don't meet with someone who is looking to earn "bonus" money or who might be new to the job. Also, some funeral home representatives are completely biased toward their companies for various reasons. I have represented many funeral service companies over the years, so my recommendations are not in any way biased. I just have the best value for your money.
I did not elaborate on cremation options here, but I have cremation options that are just as good.
In a 90-minute meeting, we can zero in on exactly what you want with a list of questions, summarize your final wishes onto one sheet of paper the right way, and look at setting up a plan that will cost you less and give you real peace of mind. Take the questionnaire on my Web site to get yourself thinking.
On this Web site is a
worksheet
I use to help put together the Final Wishes Summary. Get started on it, or I can do it with you in your home.
This one is fictional. Names, etc., have been changed.
Don't wait to start a funeral plan. Start a funeral plan the right way, and then wait.
Call or email me, and we'll get it done.
