Things You May not Know about Paying for Loved Ones Funeral
One of the most difficult situations you may find yourself in is when a family member dies and their final arrangements were not taken care of. You may find that your loved one had part of their funeral expenses paid, or that they had an insurance policy that covered only part of their arrangements. This can leave you with having to make quick judgements and choices you never thought you would be in. Here are the things you may not know about working with funeral homes to pay for your loved ones funeral and how to prepare for them now, just in case.
Reworking Pre-Planned Funerals
If you find yourself in this situation, one of the first things that funeral homes may offer is to rework and renegotiate the pre-planned funeral arrangements your loved one had made. This can be very beneficial, especially when the plans had been made several years ago when there were funds to cover the funeral arrangements. Some funeral homes can either rework the arrangements to fit the amount in an insurance plan or burial policy. This can be done by choosing a different casket, headstone, reducing the service to a chapel service and no graveside service, or removing other options that may be unnecessary.
Combined Services
Many people feel that certain funeral arrangements, such as burial slabs and headstones, must come from another business. This means that if you feel that way, you may be concerned about not only the funeral arrangements and their fee but also the fee to another business for a headstone and slab. Instead of being worried about two separate fees, you may be relieved to find that you can combine the funeral services and the post burial services of a headstone and other items with funeral home packages. In fact, you may be able to put the package together on financing of some kind to make this easy.
Multiple Insurance Payments
There is a misconception that only one insurance policy can pay for the funeral services of your loved one to the funeral home of their choice. The truth is, many funeral homes that accept financing through insurance payments will allow multiple insurance policies to combine to pay the fees for the funeral service. This can be arranged between the insurance companies and a lawyer or executor of the will and beneficiary of the will and insurance policies. If you know there are multiple policies, this may be an option available to you if your funeral home accepts the arrangements and you can arrange it with the insurance companies.
These are just three of the issues that may come up and may help you get through this tough time financially and emotionally. If you know that your loved one may not have their funeral arrangements in order, and these financial stumbling blocks may be an issue soon, consider meeting with the funeral home to discuss options so they can be addressed and taken care of before the passing of your loved one occurs.
