Are You Prepared for your Final Expenses?
It comes as a surprise to many families - and often at an emotional place where people don't want surprises - that the US Government won't pay as much as you expect towards your funeral.
View this presentation to find out more about Final Expenses Insurance
If - and these days it's a big IF - you qualify for a payment, your family will receive $255 towards funeral expenses. Let's look at what that must cover. Of course, you may not want all of these facilities, but the ones you would like all need to be paid for.
- Basic arrangements fee: You can never decline this charge. This is a basic fee charged by the funeral home for making all the arrangements relating to the body and the funeral. It covers the costs of a funeral director, and the overhead costs of staff and equipment. The fee also includes an arrangement conference with your family, the filing of a death certificate and obtaining any required permits for burial or cremation
- Burial fees: These are the costs associated with burial, including services such as grave opening and closing and/or perpetual care (maintenance) of the grave site. If you do not have a family plot, you will also have to consider the increasing costs of buying a grave site.
- Cremation fees: If you choose cremation, costs will include a charge for the actual cremation, an urn, and (should you choose), space in a columbarium (you may also choose to dispose of the cremains in any manner approved by your local health department, such as scattering them over public land).
- Clergy fees: If the service is to be performed by a priest or other clergy member, they will need to be paid for their time.
- Casket: Whether you opt for Oak, Stainless Steel or wicker, this is an item which always needs to be purchased.
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Storage charges: If the funeral home holds a body when no other services are being provided, there will be a charge.
There are several other costs that may be incurred, but you can see the principle; the government's $255 isn't going to go very far, even if you qualify for it. The price of a very moderate funeral averages around $6,000, and can cost twice as much or more! (Source: Funerals: A Consumer Guide, Federal Trade Commision, June 2000.) If that's more money than you have available for such an emergency, then you may want to start thinking now about how you are going to pay for a funeral expenses.
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