Four Ways Pre-Arranged Funerals Or Cremations Benefit You Financially
When most people talk about the benefits of pre-arranging a funeral or cremation, they talk about conveying your last wishes, having control over the service and relieving your family of the burden of planning a funeral while in grief. But those are not the only advantages. There are also several financial benefits including the following:
1. Prepaid funerals are an exempt asset for Medicaid purposes
In order for Medicaid to cover an elder's nursing home care or medical bills, that individual needs to have basically no assets or cash. However, there are a few assets that are exempt – that means the elder can still qualify for Medicaid benefits in spite of having those particular assets.
In addition to a home and a single car, irrevocable burial or cremation contracts are also exempt. You have to spend all of your money before Medicaid can kick in, so you may as well spend some of it on a pre-arranged funeral.
2. You lock in today's prices
Even if you are not worried about receiving Medicaid payments, you can still benefit from the way a prearranged funeral locks in today's prices. When you pre-arrange a funeral, you pay upfront, and when you die, that money covers your whole funeral.
If you were to simply set aside the cost of a funeral, you have no way to ensure those funds will cover the cost of a funeral several years or decades down the road. Even if you have plenty of money to cover future expenses, you will pay more for a funeral in the future simply because of basic inflation.
3. You help your family weather delayed insurance payments
By paying for your funeral in advance, you save your family from having to pay for it. Even if you have an insurance policy that is ample enough to cover the cost of a funeral, keep in mind that claims take a while to process.
As your family waits for the insurance payment, they may struggle to come up with the cash to pay for a service, or they may have to use high-interest credit cards. By paying in advance, you save them this financial hassle as well as possible interest, penalties and fees.
4. Most funeral homes offer built-in cancellation policies
If you are on the fence about prearranging your funeral, you will love that many funeral homes offer 30-day cancellation periods. That gives you time to get through any buyer's remorse and make sure you have made the right decision. It also ensures that if you find a better price at another home like Marine Park Funeral Home Inc two weeks later you can get your money back and rebook.