Funerals are one of life’s major expenses. Experts say that a funeral can cost an average of $7000 in the United States. But most of us avoid thinking about funeral expense planning ahead. Even people don’t like to check and compare final expenses right after a death. But they face the decision of funeral planning while bearing the grief of losing a loved one and also short on time.
Ahead of funeral cost planning not only keeps you worry-free but supports your family financially in times of sorrow. Including funeral costs in a regular financial plan is one of the best ways to save your family from financial stress when you are no more.
To help prevent your family’s added stress of having to plan your final rites, here are some ways you can cover your funeral costs in your life.
There are a lot of ways you can set aside some money ahead of time to cover funeral expenses and some of them are listed below in this article.
A Joint Bank Account with Rights of Survivorship
Opening a joint bank account with someone trusted is one of the best ways to cover funeral costs in advance. You can open one with your spouse or with someone in your family you trust. Setting up survivorship rights refrains your account partner from accessing the money until it is needed. In this way, your family can quickly access the money to manage funeral costs easily.
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Funeral Insurance
Funeral insurance is a type of life insurance that comes with smaller benefits than traditional life insurance plans. The claim amount can be used by your family to cover final expenses. Funeral or burial insurance plans are easy to purchase as the insurance company may ask fewer or no questions when closing the deal. Investing in funeral insurance helps you cover the costs of your final rites in advance.
A Payable-on-death Bank Savings Account
You can open a payable on death bank saving account with your bank to manage your funeral costs in your life. This kind of bank account can be accessed by the account owner when he/she is alive. In case of your death, a designated beneficiary can access the money in the account to pay for the burial costs. The designated beneficiary will need to show the death certificate of the account owner to gain access to the account. However, this method of funeral cost planning is not available immediately.
Funeral Home Prepayment
There are some funeral homes that accept prepayment for your funeral so your family doesn’t need to be worried about when you die. This funeral planning option allows you to make all funeral-related decisions on your own. Depending on your details, the funeral home manager will ask you to make a lump-sum payment or in installments. They will then arrange all the things for your memorial service or burial on their own.
Whole Life Insurance
Buying whole life insurance is another best way to cover your funeral expenses yourself in advance. You can do some search to find out a reliable insurance company in your area that offers affordable whole life insurance plans with the best premium rates. This will offer financial support to your family so they can easily look after all your final rites without facing financial issues. However, it may take 30 days or more to verify the situation and pay your claim to the nominated family member.
Final Thoughts
Planning burial costs in advance is a good idea to help your family in the time of grief. Hence, you should be careful with funeral home prepayment plans and funeral insurance policies. If you are about to pay several months in advance, make sure that the insurance company or funeral home. It will cover all the expenses even if overall funeral costs increase.
