Advanced Planning FAQs | Preplanning a Funeral

As with everything in life, things always go more smoothly with a plan.  Making arrangements and plans for after your death is no different.  It is a very sensitive and emotional subject, but will make things easier for friends and family in the long-run.  Preplanning a funeral not only includes plans for burial preparation and a funeral service, but also the financial side of it, including making sure that everything is covered.  Taking care of these things in advance ensures that your loved ones are not hit with an unexpected financial burden in a time of stress and sadness.

The National Funeral Directors Association has put together a Bill of Rights for Funeral Preplanning in order to help you be educated on what to expect and what your rights are when you are preplanning and prepaying for funeral arrangements.  The Bill of Rights states that any reputable funeral home should be able to provide you with the following items when you are in the process of funeral preplanning:

• You should be able to get a detailed pricing list of all of the goods and services that you may be interested in.
• Once you have had a funeral arrangement conference, they must supply you with a list of all of the items you have chosen and plans you have made and the pricing of all of these line items.
• A reputable funeral home will also provide you with a pre-need funeral contract and outline all of your obligations underneath that contract.
• Also in the contract, should be the details of payments that must be made, including any interest you may incur, until the time of the funeral.
• One more thing that should be included is what happens in the event that you may pass away in a different geographical location and if the contract can be transferred elsewhere.

These are only a few of the items listed in the Bill of Rights for Funeral Preplanning.  The full list can be found on the National Funeral Director’s Association Website.  Contact Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery for more information on preplanning a funeral.  Allow us to help you make this process as comfortable as possible.