6 th August 2013 : By Jason Cherrington
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Just the same as thinking about making a Will, thinking about and planning your funeral can be a daunting task, let's face it nobody likes thinking about their own mortality.
However planning ahead brings peace of mind and a basic principle I learnt a long time ago which can be applied to all aspects of one's life is the Five P's (proper, planning, prevents, poor, performance).
Imagine a scenario were you have passed away and are now sitting on your cloud looking down at your loved ones.
Would you rather be watching them give you a send-off in style carrying out the wishes of your Will and relaxing knowing you had put appropriate plans in place for your funeral arrangements?
Or would you be content to watch them having been left burdened either with the cost of the funeral or the responsibility of deciding what kind of ceremony you would have wanted when the time does eventually come and all of this at a time of great emotional stress.
Did you know that funeral wishes noted in a Will are not legally binding and merely serve as guidance for your loved ones and executors to try their best to follow.
There is a simple solution to this - Plan ahead with a Funeral Plan
Having a funeral Plan in place allows you to pay for the services frozen at today’ prices and is also a way of making sure your wishes are known and can be carried out with the minimum of fuss and emotional distress for your loved ones.
What is A Funeral Plan?
Funeral Plans are a financial product that are designed to allow an individual to pre arrange and pre pay for their end of life services in advance. Thus enabling the individual to have precisely the send-off and celebration of their life that they specifically wanted and not what others would guessed they would desire.
What is included?
Usually, funeral plans involve paying a fixed amount of money in return for a set of services from the Funeral Director and disbursement costs.
Different funeral plans include different things, so make sure you check what you are getting when you sign up. For example, if a church service is not included in the price of your plan, your family will have to cover this bill out of their own pockets.
With Most providers it is usually possible for you to have a bespoke plan which you can customise with your personal requests tailoring a unique service for you and your loved ones.
Payment options
You can opt to pay the whole amount upfront. (Depending on the options you select prices can range from £3000 to £4000 per plan)
Most providers will also allow you to spread the cost over the course of several years – normally five years is the maximum.
Options can include 12 monthly interest free instalments. Any term selected above this will usually incur an interest charge.
Why would I care, I won’t be here!?
The answer to this is very simple; funeral costs are increasing at an alarming rate annually, so why pay thousands of pounds more than you need to?
There are also enormous emotional benefits to a funeral plan. Anybody who has had a loved one pass away will understand the unquantifiable distress that the next of kin and loved ones go through whilst having to attempt to come to terms with such a loss; in this state of mind, most people are in no condition to be able to cope with the additional upset and stress of having to organize and arrange a funeral.
It is a huge help, in fact a real relief to the next of kin that this kind of arrangement is already in place and that they do not have to worry about where they are also going to be able to find the finance to pay for the services.
Why pre-pay today?
Funeral costs have risen dramatically in recent years and look set to continue on the same path. According to a recent survey, cremations have increased in price by 40% in just five years.
One of the main and important advantages of a Pre-paid funeral plan over a traditional insurance policy or savings account is that the funeral directors' fees are guaranteed to be met, however much their price rises, and therefore won't be a financial burden for your relatives, no matter how long you live.
When you put your money in an insurance policy or building society, there are no guarantees that your investment will increase sufficiently to pay for your funeral when the unfortunate day comes. Take out a Golden Leaves plan, however, and, not only do you pay today's prices, you're guaranteed the funeral you want, no matter how prices rise in the future, regardless of how long you live.
A Mintel survey has shown that the cost of a funeral has increased by over 40% in the last five years. If, in 2000, you had invested £1000 in a standard Building Society account, it would have only grown to £1360 by 2009. In the same period, the cost of the same funeral had risen to £2,733 meaning the Building Society investment would have fallen short by £1,373.
The number of people who are taking it upon themselves to plan ahead with a Funeral plan is increasing year on year, here are some recent Statistics from the Funeral Planning Authority.
As an Estate Planning Consultant with Mind at Rest Wills, I am authorised to promote Golden Leaves Pre-Paid Funeral Plans. With a Golden Leave funeral plan you can choose from a range of plans or you can decide on a totally bespoke option that enables you to personalise all of the details precisely to your own wishes, Payments are made directly into the Golden Leaves Trust and are held there securely, until the capital is required to pay the funeral directors for the services.
Golden Leaves Funeral Plans are registered providers with the Funeral Planning Authority, and a founding member of the N.A.P.F.P Golden Leaves have been, providing funeral plans for over 25 years and are at the forefront of pre-paid funeral plans having already supplied Funeral Plans to tens of thousands of satisfied customers.
Its important to choose the right pre-paid Funeral Plan for you, for more information on how a funeral plan can help you, your family and your loved ones, you can visit our Funeral Plan Page or use our Contact Form
