http://chamberlainfp.com/2010/02/october-13-2009-senior-spectrum/
Final Arrangements – Make Your Wishes Known
At the time of one’s passing is not the best time to make final arrangements due to the emotions, sorrow, sense of loss, assumed responsibility, and of course, the financial considerations.
There is much to consider about what happens when a person passes away. Religious beliefs can differ between family members — even between spouses. If you have a definitive idea as to the religious implications around your passing, express it and make it known so that your desires and beliefs can be respected.
If you care for those closest to you, do them a favor and make decisions about what you want to take place at your passing. Discuss your desires with your family and even put them in writing. The time you take to make these decisions now will alleviate a lot of anguish and heartache that would occur had you not been thinking ahead.
What to do with the remains? Cremation, burial or internment are all options, with pluses and minuses for each. There is no right or wrong decision in the overall scheme of things — only what is right or best for you.
Cremation may be the least costly, and it may provide for the greatest number of options as far as distributing your ashes. Burial in the ground is a common option; however issues can come up, such as many people are married more than once, so who would they be buried next to; or family members may not live nearby, so where is the best place to be buried? Internment above ground is very similar to a burial except it is above ground and therefore more costly.
Then comes the issue of services. Will it be religious in nature? Who will lead the services? Do you want family members to speak? What songs do you want played or sung? Do you want flowers, and if so, how many and at what cost? Will there be an open casket or not? What about the quality of the casket? From where will the funds for the services come? And so on, and so on.
Once you have a general idea of what you’d like, it would be worthwhile to visit several funeral homes or cemeteries to discuss the details and potential costs. You may have the option to pre-pay certain components of the final arrangements. It is quite common to buy a burial plot ahead of time.
If you have the funds to pay for the services it will probably make more sense to simply retain those for the future purpose rather than buying funeral insurance. Burial insurance is just another form of life insurance, where the commissions and fees can outweigh the benefits of payoff at your passing.
To receive forms that can help you document your decisions about what you want to occur at your passing, or to receive a checklist of what things need to be done when someone passes, please call or e-mail Mike Chamberlain at mike@chamberlainfp.comor call (800) 347-1340.
Michael Chamberlain is a Calif. Registered Investment Advisor. Send your questions to him at mike@chamberlainfp.com or call (800) 347-1340
