Funeral prearrangement: No-cost peace of mind for you and your loved ones

Funeral planning is, without a doubt, a sensitive subject. Nobody likes to think about their own death or the death of someone close. Yet, when we avoid thinking about our funeral, we are simply leaving it for our loved ones to handle at a time when they may be least able to do so. Given emotional stresses and compressed time frames, what can result is not the kind of funeral you and your family may ultimately want for how you are to be remembered. Anyone who has arranged a funeral knows how difficult the task can be. There are over 100 questions that need to be answered. Will it be burial or cremation? Who is to be involved? Who needs to be notified? What should the newspaper notice say and who writes it? Will there be music at the service? Who makes the selection? And so on. Having these questions answered ahead of time by prearranging affords one’s family peace of mind so that they can focus on what a funeral should truly be about: celebrating one’s beliefs, remembering the deceased in the personalized manner they wanted, and beginning the grieving process. While funeral prearrangement is an important part of estate planning, we need to distinguish between preplanning a funeral and prefunding it, since many people assume that a prearranged funeral must be paid for in advance of need. This is not the case. A prearrangement plan details the way a person wishes his or her funeral handled. There is no cost to arrange final wishes with the McGarry Family, nor does it cost for them to be recorded. A prefunded funeral plan takes place only as an optional next step. Prefunded plans offer a range of services that are affordable, tax-sheltered, transferable and secure. Most people try to plan ahead for life’s major expenses such as a home purchase, children’s tuition, vacations and retirement. Prefunding one’s funeral should fall into these plans for several reasons. From an emotional point of view, it alleviates the financial burden of survivors. From a financial point of view, it is a sound and secure investment that protects against inflation by locking in today’s funeral costs against tomorrow’s prices. It’s important to note that McGarry Family prefunded funeral plans are guaranteed, that monies are protected in law by compensation funds, and that the maximum one can prepay on a tax-free basis is $15,000. Once money is invested in a prefunded plan, it remains the purchaser’s money, not that of the funeral home. If you are to move in the future, it can be moved with you. If you decide to redeem, you can. The choices you made and paid for in your plan can be changed at any time. A recent national survey showed that 70% of the people asked believe in the importance of prearranging their final needs. Preplanning and prefunding your funeral isn’t morbid – it’s just good sense.

Provided by: Hulse, Playfair & McGarry.
www.mcgarryfamily.ca

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