January 2000

Preplanning Your Funeral - Why and How

There are many advantages in preplanning your funeral. It's a simple procedure that doesn't take much time but ensures peace of mind and relieves your loved ones of making decisions at a stressful time. It allows you to make choices for your funeral service based on what you want. If you change your mind, preneed arrangements can be revised in accordance with new circumstances in your life.

The first step is to select a funeral director. Think of choosing one the same way you would a doctor or attorney. Get recommendations from your family, friends and neighbors. You can also research the names of funeral directors by visiting the New York State Funeral Directors Association's website at www.nysfda.org.

Meet with your funeral director to explore your options. There are many types of special, personalized services that you can discuss at this time. Once details have been finalized, your funeral director will prepare a preneed agreement and fully itemized statement for your review.

You have several choices for payment. One option is to prepay in full. The funeral director will forward the payment within ten days to an interest-bearing government backed account, or a funeral trust program such as NYSFDA's PrePlan trust. This account allows you to make payments on an installment schedule, and to make additional deposits at any time. Copies of your preplan documents should be given to a spouse or next-of-kin to make sure that your wishes will be carried out.

To order the brochure Preplanning Prefunding a Funeral send a check or money order for $3.50 to the New York State Funeral Directors Association, Dept. C, Four Wembley Square, Albany, NY 12205. This comprehensive brochure explains different types of funeral agreements and consumer protections. It also has information for SSI and Medicaid recipients and sample preplan documents.

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