If I pre-plan and prepay my funeral, burial, or cremation, how do I know that the money will be there when I die?
If you decide to prepay your funeral, burial, or cremation prearrangements, there are generally two methods to assure the funeral home's and/or cemetery's performance. Your money is either used toward a premium to purchase life insurance whereby the policy proceeds will pay for your arrangements, or your funds -- either the entire amount or a portion of them -- will be deposited into a trust fund account to defray the provider's costs and ensure delivery of pre-arranged goods and services. Either method should be disclosed to you and the contract should state whether or not the purchase price is guaranteed; that is, whether you or your family will have to pay additional amounts on the items you have selected in the contract. A guaranteed price contract means that no further payment will ever be required beyond the price stated in the contract for the items you are purchasing.