Pre-need funeral plans are available through multiple avenues. You can find packages at most funeral homes, cemeteries, life insurance providers, large corporations, and even independent financial brokers. These days, just about everyone has a finger in the death pre-care industry pie, and knowing who to turn to for help can be tricky.
If you are in the market for a pre-arranged funeral, here are a few things you should know about shopping smart.
If you’re reading this blog post, you already have some idea that the Internet can be a valuable funeral planning tool. Because of the wide availability of information online, and because more and more funeral homes are providing price lists and services via the Internet, you can accomplish everything from comparing prices to ordering caskets without leaving the comfort of your home.
However, as is the case with any purchase you make online, it’s important to do your research and make safe and secure choices. Here are a few tips when planning a funeral using the Internet.
These days, more and more funeral planning consumers are turning to online sources for information on choosing a funeral home and knowing their options when it comes to burial, cremation, or alternate body arrangements. Whether they’re researching funeral costs via an Android or building a memorial website from home, people are using their web-savvy skills to make smart choices and plan funerals that bridge tradition and technology.
Whenever you pre-plan a funeral or make arrangements to handle the remains of a loved one, you will be asked to sign a contract with the funeral home. This is designed to protect both you and the funeral home, which is why it’s important to make sure you understand the fine print before you sign (and why you might possibly run it by your lawyer first).
One thing that almost all funeral homes have in common is that they are large, elaborate structures built in the traditional style. From historic brick facades and marble pillars to classic Victorian décor, the funeral home setting is designed to provide comfort to the family as well as serve a functional purpose.
Most funeral homes are these large, mansion-like structures not to be awe-inspiring, but because it is necessary to have ample space for all the services and products offered here. In addition, older funeral homes might even have a living space upstairs for the family, since in the past, a funeral director always needed to be near his or her work.
Much of the information you’ll find online (and here at our blog) has to do with funeral pre-planning. We always encourage people to look ahead to those difficult times, since making financial and physical arrangements can greatly reduce the burden on loved ones. This is especially true for those in the retirement planning stages of their life.
Unfortunately, death isn’t always something we can plan for. Many times, the loss of a loved one occurs out of the blue or when they are at an age when such a thing shouldn’t be possible. If this is the case, and you haven’t had any time to prepare or learn about funeral planning, you can expect to follow a timeline similar to this:
Funeral planning in a small town is a much different affair than funeral planning in a large city. Not only are you faced with fewer options when it comes to funeral homes, but privacy is often hard to come by. It can be very difficult to make decisions when you know the whole town is watching and expecting you to stick to tradition, and you might feel trapped into making choices you might not otherwise choose.
There are times when the unthinkable can occur…when your family, already strained due to death and the stress of funeral planning, is treated unfairly by a funeral provider.
Funeral homes, cemeteries, and other companies in the funeral industry are held to certain national standards, but that doesn’t mean that a bad experience can’t happen to you. Whether due to a misunderstanding, neglect, or malicious intentions, there may arise a situation in which you question the ethics and legality of your treatment. If this happens, there are resources and organizations you can turn to for help.
Most funerals have to be planned within a time frame of 3 to 7 days. Due to health regulations and the costs associated with storing the body over an extended amount of time, there tends to be a fairly small window of opportunity when it comes to making funeral plans and bringing together large amounts of family and friends for a memorial service.
Although it’s not an ideal situation, there are cases in which a loved one in another location dies, and there is no one living nearby to help with the funeral planning. Because the nature of body disposal requires that most funerals be planned within a week’s time, it can be difficult to make all the necessary arrangements from another city or even another state.
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