With a funeral trust, you can set aside funds now to cover future funeral and burial or cremation costs later. You can also make choices in advance about the type of service that you prefer.
How Much to Set Aside?
How much you set aside to fund your plan depends on the type of service that you prefer.
If you wish, you can get a detailed statement listing the goods and services that you selected with or without an allowance for cash advance items, such as flowers, obituary notices, etc.
Once you know the amount, you can pre-fund your plan with one lump sum payment or by setting up a payment plan.
If your choice is to be cremated, an easy way to determine how much to set aside is by browsing through the cremation packages right on our website.
You can choose the type of urn you want, whether you would like a public viewing, memorial service, and so on.
Where to Set Funds Aside?
We use a special type of life insurance designed for funeral planning. You can use it whether you prefer a funeral and burial or cremation.
Once the policy is set up, it can be assigned to an Irrevocable Funeral Trust. The protected funds earn interest (tax-free) until the time of need.
When the time comes, the funds are available to pay for the arrangements you selected. Any excess funds are returned to your estate or to the named beneficiary.
Irrevocable Funeral Trust
When you assign the policy to an Irrevocable Funeral Trust, the funds are excluded from your assets. The most common reason for doing this is to protect the funds if you ever go into a nursing home and need to apply for Medicaid.
The funds assigned to the Irrevocable Funeral Trust are not countable when determining eligibility for Medicaid. The funds will be available to cover the cost of the funeral and burial expenses at the time of need.
Keep in mind that, since you transferred the funds to the trust to qualify for Medicaid, they will not be available for anything else. The funds are protected for use only towards funeral and burial expenses.
The Peace of Mind is Priceless
You can still choose type of service that you prefer and set aside funds now to cover future funeral and burial or cremation costs without assigning the funds to an Irrevocable Funeral Trust. You can always do that later if needed to determine eligibility for Medicaid.
By planning in advance, you will gain peace of mind not only for you but for your family as well.
I have been personally involved in helping people pre-plan and pre-fund their final expenses for over 33 years. I am also there when the time comes to help families after they have just lost a loved one. I know through experience how grateful families are when they find that their mother, father, or other loved one made arrangements in advance.
It is probably one of the greatest gifts a parent can give their children.
