I'd like to add a different perspective. Their are numerous benefits emotionally to pre-planning a funeral, however there are only a few financial ones. Yes, it will lock in the cost of a funeral home's service and merchandise - and maybe even a cemetery's grave opening and closing - but what now one has said out loud is the real benefit to pre-funding a funeral is it's exempt as an asset for Medicaid when applying for long term care. This could be a discussion all unto itself - however this is why many people do this. Secondly - when I read down the thread - each state is different regarding the "how" a funeral must be prefunding. FLA , MI and West Virginia for example are very restrictive. Regardless - the laws always advocate the consumer.

I forgot to add that my church memorial will cost us nothing. Our church does this for anyone and they also will be providing a nice luncheon after. God bless them.

My husband just died last week. We both had ideas about how our "final" plans should go. Having worked in the funeral business part time, we knew what to expect. However....and here is the rub. I am left with family that "wants" certain things. I just talked with my SIL and she said that her children DO NOT want to follow her wishes for cremation. After my experience this week, I advised her that since she wasn't going to be there...so to speak...let them do what they want and let them pay for it. They want a big funeral and caskets. OK...let them do it, if it comforts them. My husband always said...cremation and they have cardboard boxes for the ashes. My poor daughter and granddaughter sat and cried. Is it too much to bow to their wishes at this time? Not for me. I don't want to hear my granddaughter say, "I don't want Grampa's ashes in a cardboard box." Flowers were not big on my list. They wanted them. So my husband has a lovely urn, wood since he was a wood carver, flowers and anything else the survivors want to make it easier for them. He is gone and when I am gone, again let them do what they wish. I love them all and Saturday, we will have a lovely memorial service for him with some favorite hymns...my choice AND flowers and an urn. My love for them means more than following to the letter wishes we made years ago. Everyone grieves in their own way.

I agree that pre-planning funeral arrangements is very important. Like you said, it is the best way to ensure that your wishes will be honored and it makes financial sense. Both of those things ease the stress of the grieving family.

Susan

Another option is body donation. Everything is set up before we die, they cremate the body when the donations are completed and then they send the ashes to the family. It's all free, many people want to contribute to medical research, and you can spend your money on a nice celebration of life. A party celebrating your life rather than your death can be healing for everyone and it is a tiny percent of what a funeral costs.

I have already started this for my mother. Be aware that money set aside for funerals is usually put into an insurance policy for which there are age limits. The sooner you look into this the better, especially if you want to lock-in rates. My mother is 95 and too old for an insurance policy but I can still set aside the money in an insurance plan. It doesn't lock-in any rates, though. This is also good planning since the money for the funeral will be available after the person dies since all other accounts are frozen until the estate is settled.

Check with more than one funeral company, if you can. I found that some do a "cafeteria plan" where you pay for each thing. With one company, having my mother's funeral in her church would have cost another $1,000. With the company I went with, it was inclusive. They had one price and if there were things you didn't want, they subtracted them out so my mother can have her eventual funeral in the church after all.