Who Makes the Funeral Decisions?
When a loved one dies, there are many decisions that will have to be made about what to do with the body, where to plan the funeral, and what to do about other financial and personal issues. Most people know that the default person responsible for this decision-making is the spouse, but what if the deceased was unmarried? What if they made alternate arrangements? And what if there is some disagreement about who gets to be in charge? (more…)
How to Pay for a Funeral from an Estate
One of the most often-cited ways to cover funeral costs is to make the estate of the deceased pay for it. An “estate,” in this situation, is the sum total of the belongings, properties, and financial accounts the deceased leaves behind. Ranging anywhere from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars in assets, this money is what is later broken up and disbursed according to the deceased’s will. (more…)
From time to time, those of us at iMortuary find great resources from within the industry we are delighted to share. Une Belle Vie Memorial Urns, is a company we admire for their commitment to customer service and quality to the consumers they serve online and over the phone. They empathize with their customers’ challenges in managing estate finances and administration; to help families facing these tasks, they have developed a free downloadable guide to managing a loved one’s finances after they’re gone.
When a loved one passes, the family’s first and most pertinent task is to organize the funeral and/or memorial, which can be daunting during this time of mourning. After the funeral, families often struggle with what to do next regarding their loved one’s possessions, property and, most importantly, their finances.
Une Belle Vie Memorial Urns, a company that offers unique and custom cremation urns, offers a free downloadable step-by-step guide to managing a loved one’s finances after they are gone. The guide includes how to contact the appropriate government and financial agencies, how to close or transfer accounts, and how to claim death benefits.
Especially during a time of mourning, everyone can use some guidance and direction.
The free guide is available for download at http://decorative-urns.com/cremation-blog/estate-planning/free-download-une-belle-vie-guide-to-managing-a-loved-ones-finances/.
One of the biggest steps you’ll take during the process of estate and funeral planning is to create a will. This legally-binding document contains directives how to disburse your estate after you are gone, including how and where your property and assets are divided (as well as the care of any dependents you leave behind). Although the traditional method has always been to draft a will under the direction and guidance of a lawyer, the ease of online transactions has made online wills more popular than ever before.
And while there are benefits to drafting an online will, it’s not the right solution for everyone. If you’re in the funeral planning stages and are considering looking to the Internet for your will and estate needs, here are a few considerations to keep in mind.
You’ve said goodbye to your loved one the best way you know how, tied the loose ends up from the funeral planning, and are getting ready to face the most difficult task ahead of you: the first year. Although everyone grieves in a different way, and there is no way to prepare for the emotional hardships that lay ahead of you, most people agree that the first few months are always the hardest.
And while no one can tell you how best to handle your grief, you can at least rely on the support of financial advisors to help you get your personal affairs into order. (This is most important when you’ve recently lost a spouse or life partner, although dealing with a parent’s finances might also be a factor for adult children.)
Although funeral plans and healthcare directives don’t always overlap, they cover issues that many people address at the same time. While funeral plans provide financial support and instructions for after death occurs, healthcare directives address these issues while you’re still alive…and too ill to make the decisions on your own.
The iMortuary team thanks guest author, George Shaw for this blog post.
As we age, we begin to think more deeply and realistically about how we would like to be remembered in the future. Certainly, for those who have substantial financial means, there is the possibility of leaving large charitable donations to organizations that have meaning in return for recognition. Yet, in the case of most other individuals, it may be necessary to get more creative in terms of leaving a future legacy.
There are many different types of official arrangements for funeral planning and other end-of-life issues. From wills and living trusts to funeral insurance, the right amount of preparation can leave a clear and easy path for the loved ones you leave behind.
Of course, not everything is always so formal. For many people, a discussion about burial wishes or resuscitation orders is enough. These require a lot less planning and legal work, leaving you to enjoy life while you still have it.
Ethical wills are one of the oldest funeral planning tools in existence—even though they have a lot less to do with funerals and a lot more to do with leaving a legacy behind. Historically popular in the Jewish culture as a way to pass ethical values from one generation to the next, ethical wills are now being adopted by a large percentage of the population, across generations and religions. In fact, the American Bar Association recommends writing an ethical will as an addendum to traditional estate planning.
When it comes to traditional financial planning, the majority of long-term fiscal decisions are made by men. For years, financial professionals have been trying to create specialized programs that focus on women and how they can plan for retirement or life after the loss of a spouse.
Funeral planning, on the other hand, is a process that has long been dominated by women. In fact, an estimated two-thirds of funerals are planned and paid for by women—usually because a wife outlives her husband, and is called upon to determine how to best lay her spouse to rest. Adult female children are also the ones most likely to act as caretakers for their aging parents, so the task of funeral planning often falls to them.
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