Fight Inflation and Save Your Family Heartache by Pre-planning Your Burial

Funeral planning can happen any time. Pre-need planning is common. Pre-need funeral planning is the act of making funeral arrangements and covering their costs ahead of time. The benefits include:

Making decisions about what happens with your body after you die
Choosing if and where you will be buried
Choosing what sort of service will be held in your honor
Pre-paying for your funeral to save costs for your family
And more

Let’s take a deeper dive, shall we?

Pre-plan what will happen with your remains- When you die, your body must be cared for and handled in the way that aligns with your personal preferences and beliefs. If you pre-plan your burial you have complete control over the care and handling of your remains. You can determine:

Burial or cremation
If you are embalmed
If there is a viewing
What sort of casket or container you’re buried in
And more

Choosing if and where you will be buried- Pre-planning gives you the opportunity to pick if and where you will be buried or if you prefer an alternative such as cremation, water or other burial, or an unconventional option such as donating your remains to science.

Choose the sort of service- Pre-need planning can include planning your service and covering the costs. From picking the music, flowers, and other details to securing the location and locking in rates, your planning can make the funeral arrangements less burdensome on your family. You may even design and commission your headstone or other memorial to mark your place of rest.

Locking in rates and costs and avoiding inflation- Your actions can help reduce the costs of your funeral after time goes by. By pre-planning and paying for your expenses, you can avoid higher costs down the line. Also, you can rest easier knowing your family won’t have to cover the costs of your funeral and burial or cremation.

If you are the sort of person who likes having their ducks in a row and pays attention to detail, planning your own burial through a pre-need plan is an excellent way to make sure your wishes are thoroughly met and things represent who you were in life, even in your death. You can simply add your pre-need contract with your will, trust, and other important documents for your attorney or executor of your estate to use when the time comes.

Do You Have a Will or Trust to Protect Your Assets?

Most people know what a will is. It’s a written document that disperses your assets and provides a care plan for your dependents after you die. Not everyone knows what a trust is or how important both are for your family.

Generally speaking, a will is a document that goes into effect after you die, while a trust is in effect while you are alive and includes directives about your assets and the guardianship of minor children. Having a will and/or trust makes your wishes clear and legally makes them binding. Without a will or trust, things get tricky.

What happens if you have a will or trust?

There are specific guidelines for the disbursement of your assets and the care of your minor children in the event of your death
An executor of your choice is designated to oversee your estate and carry out your wishes
The time frame for disbursement of your assets and action plan are swift
Your wishes are legally binding and generally can’t be overturned
Accounts can be managed and paid even after you die

What happens if you do not have a will or trust?

Your assets are held while the courts sort out disbursement
Someone else may have to incur costs to settle your estate
Your wishes may not be fully known or preserved
You can lose assets that aren’t protected
Your children will not be protected for their care and custody
Long periods of time may go by before your estate is settled

A will or trust can help make certain your wishes are carried out and that you don’t lose any assets that are part of your estate.

Creating a will or trust

There are a few ways to create a will or trust. A will can be created on your own. There are no-cost and low-cost ways to create a will. There are services that can walk you through the process of creating a will if your estate is modest and you don’t have a lot to manage.

Note: Writing a will isn’t as simple as sitting down with a Word doc. Once you’ve completed your will, it will need to be accompanied by a Self Proving Affidavit that is notarized. This legally ensures you are the author of your will and makes it easier for your family to enforce after your death.

The most secure way to create a will or trust is through an attorney. Probate and estate-planning attorneys can help you craft a will or trust that will be recognized by your state in the event of your death and make things easy on your family and beneficiaries.

You’re Never Too Young or Too Old to Make End-of-Life Plans

By Roz Jones

“The idea is to die young as late as possible”- Ashley Montagu

Most people do not think about end-of-life planning unless they are forced to. It seems so far away when you’re young and vital and unless there is a grim reminder, it feels unnecessary. It sort of feels like something you do when you are older but each day you grow older you just don’t seem to feel old… yet.

You are never too young or too old to make end of life plans. Your planning may vary or change in depth over time, but it’s never too early or too late to talk about such things. Generally, something triggers a chat about end of life.

An accident in your community
A loved one dies suddenly
Someone you know has a terminal diagnosis

Things like this spark conversations because they are close to home. It’s a reminder – gentle or shocking – that we are not immortal.

Here are some pro-tips for talking about end of life planning no matter what your age.

Pro-tip: Talking with children- Children pass away. It’s an undeniable yet grim fact. Your child may have been touched directly by the passing of a friend or classmate or your child may have been given a diagnosis that could result in their death. Under the right circumstances, having a conversation about end of life plans may be right for your child.

Ask open-ended questions that get your child thinking. You can ask about mature-themed issues in a way that is child-friendly and age-appropriate. It’s alright to ask about how your child would want to be buried or remembered during a memorial. Use this time to educate your child about the realities that everyone dies and that it is a natural part of living.

Pro-tip: Talking with teens- Chances are greater your teen will know someone who has passed unexpectedly. Teens can be emotional about death, especially of friends their age. The developmental stage of tween and teen life can elevate emotions and intensify reactions to death. This shouldn’t diminish the importance of tackling the issue head-on.

Be open and honest with your teen about your feelings about dying, death, and what your perspectives are. Ask for their thoughts and compare and contrast your beliefs. Seek to understand and come to conclusions about what your teen wants and how they feel about important issues like organ donation, life support, and what quality of life means to them.

Pro-tip: Talking with adults- From your spouse or siblings to your aging parents, there is a wide range of ages in adulthood. Talking about end-of-life plans will vary based on who you are engaging and what role they play. Everyone is different and some people are more resistant to talking about end of life plans. Regardless, there are decisions that need to be made.

Don’t blindside anyone with a talk about tough issues. Prep and plan to have a discussion. Do your best to decide what medical consents your family member agrees to and who will make decisions if they can’t. Make decisions about the types of burial or cremation they consent to and talk frankly about costs and how they will be met.

Part of what makes talking about death scary is your attitude about it. The easier you approach the subject, the easier it is to talk about it. You are never too young to begin thinking about how you want to be supported medically and cared for when you die.

Important Questions to Ask Before You Get Sick or Hurt

By Roz Jones

If you’re a fan of any sort of prime-time television, you’ve probably seen a drama based in a hospital. Each day people are flown or driven into emergency rooms with life-threatening issues that leave them unconscious and sometimes near death. Doctors and their support staff are making a lot of life-saving decisions with very little information. Life-saving because that’s what doctors do. Save lives no matter what it takes.

That’s noble and thank goodness they have the skill sets to do what most people can’t – save and prolong life – thanks to their wisdom and modern technology. Watching your favorite television drama, the fictional characters draw you in with the chaos and extreme measures that surround saving lives.

Well, many of the storylines that make up your favorite show are based, in part, on some reality. A writer sometime somewhere knew someone or read about a situation that is similar to the story being played out on the television screen. Accidents and illnesses occur every day in hospitals everywhere. People find themselves in extreme situations needing their lives saved by people they can’t communicate with.

What would happen if you or someone you loved were injured and couldn’t communicate? Mostly, every measure to save or prolong life would be taken. This may or may not include measures that violate religious standards or might be so extreme it would freak you out. What’s more, if you are unable to speak, your family may be put in a position to make decisions for you and not every family is equipped to handle the responsibility.

There are some important questions you should ask yourself before you get sick or hurt. It can help providers serve you better and make things easier for your family. Check these out:

Question: Who do you want to make healthcare decisions on your behalf?

Question: Do you understand the types of treatments used to keep people alive?

Question: What does quality of life mean to you?

Thinking about these questions can help you make important decisions about your health and your health care. There are things you can do to make sure your wishes are known in case you are in an accident or have a chronic or terminal illness.

Get an advance directive
Designate a medical decision-maker
Share your beliefs and intentions

These important steps will make all the difference if or when you need services from emergency or hospital staff. Take the time to decide what your stand is on your medical care and do something to protect yourself and your family.

Protecting Yourself Legally, Financially, and Medically for the Future

By Roz Jones

Thinking about end-of-life matters generally brings to mind thoughts about funerals and final resting places. That’s certainly part of the equation but outside of sudden death, there’s probably going to be more to face before you die. Preparing for your end-of-life needs happens long before you are sick or have an accident.

In the same way that you value having medical insurance and retirement plans, you should also value things like:

✔A will or trust

✔Life insurance

✔An advance directive

✔A designated medical decision-maker

✔Additional income sources outside of retirement

✔Successor guardians for dependents

These are simply a few of the important safeguards that should be in place to protect you and your loved ones if something happens to you and you can’t care for them.

Protecting yourself legally, financially, and medically is an important step towards making sure things are in order and you benefit from your pre-planning. How?

By avoiding burdening your family with making difficult decisions for you
By preventing your estate from going into probate
By securing care and comfort for an illness, accident, or hospice
By ensuring your children or dependents are protected and provided for if you die
By providing income to your family for their wellbeing
By making sure someone you trust manages your health care if you are injured or sick

This is not an exhaustive list of benefits that planning provides but it does give a healthy snapshot of how many things you can protect and provide by taking time to do some planning.

You don’t have to make these decisions alone

While these are personal and important decisions that you must ultimately make, you don’t have to make them alone. There are professionals whose job it is to help you make and solidify your decisions as well as legally bind them so you are sure to be protected if/when you need them.

Here’s an idea of who can help:

Generally, you can make a lot of decisions on your own but you may want some advice from a professional before making a final decision.

Legal help:

Will and probate attorneys

Trust attorneys

Financial help:

Retirement planners

Investment planners

Insurance agents

Medical help:

Primary care physician

Funeral/Burial planning professionals

These providers can help you sort through the choices available to you for your legal, financial, and medical needs. From preparing for retirement and earning and saving money to cover care and end-of-life expenses to making sure your wishes are carried out and your estate and your healthcare are managed in the way you desire. Each of these issues can be managed and coordinated with the help of a professional.