How Much Does This Casket Cost?

Pre-planning allows you to be a wise consumer.

“It doesn’t cost you anything to have the pre-planning discussion with a funeral home. I want to stress that you are not obligated to purchase the arrangements you discuss. You can even talk about pre-funding your funeral, but you don’t have to say yes to all the dollars discussed.” Funeral Director Christine Cuoco of Ruby Memorial

The number one reason people pre-plan is for peace of mind. The number two reason is for personal satisfaction.

I’ll give you a third reason. It makes financial sense. Every nine years’ burial costs have doubled. It is easily possible for the cost of a funeral, plot or crypt, burial service, and a celebration of life afterwards, to add up to $20,000. If you pre-pay in today’s dollars and live for another twenty years, you have made a wise investment. In fact, many elder law attorneys advise prepayment to invest in assets that will not be countable by Medicaid or SSI.

Pre-paying funeral costs:
Each state is different, so check with your state about how to prepay funeral costs. Here are some common options:

You may choose a life insurance with a death benefit, to pay for funeral and burial expenses. Make sure it is enough money. Include the cost for the meal or celebration after the funeral service. Just know you will wait for the money. I paid for my dad’s funeral and then was paid back from insurance.

You can set up a “Payable on Death” (POD) account with your bank. You deposit enough money to pay for a funeral at current prices and can add to it if accumulated interest does not keep up with current funeral prices. Funds are immediately released upon your death without having to go through probate.

Or, you can prepay for a funeral by putting money into a funeral trust. The trust is a personal account based on your social security number, which can be set up as an irrevocable or revocable trust. If you are on Medicaid or welfare, it must be set up as an irrevocable trust. With an irrevocable trust, all the monies must go to the funeral. In New Jersey, you can’t use this money for the meal or celebration afterwards. With a revocable trust, any money you do not use comes back to you or your family. In fact, if you need the money, you can take it out without penalty prior to death. You can work with a lawyer or, in the state of NJ, with the funeral director to set up the trust.

It makes sense to pre-plan and pay a funeral and burial when you have income coming in. Be advised that even with prepaying, the funeral home can charge the difference between today’s cost and the cost of when you prepaid. For example, newspaper obituaries and the cost of death certificates have gone up significantly over the years. You may not want to prepay for these items. Still, you should ask the question: “On which items will I have to pay the cost differential?” Then decide what it makes sense to prepay.

Ask the same questions about prepaid burials. If you prepay opening and closing costs at today’s rate (e.g. $300), does that mean you won’t pay the difference for at the actual rate ($1500) at time of burial? Ask if you can set up a trust when you prepay that includes opening and closing costs.

An excellent and comprehensive place to learn your rights as a consumer, and for practical, helpful suggestions, go to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC ) Shopping for Funeral Services Page.

Things to consider:

• As the consumer, when you go to pre-plan, have a budget in mind. The right funeral director will work to stay within your budget. This is one of the reasons to plan when it is not a crisis or right after someone has died.
• Sometimes it’s more convenient and less stressful to “price shop” funeral homes by telephone. The Funeral Rule requires funeral directors to provide price information over the phone to any caller who asks for it.
• Cremation is significantly less expensive. A Direct Cremation can be done for less than $2,000. And you bypass the need to use the funeral home for a service, so there is a cost saving there as well.
• Do your research, zip codes matter. Call funeral homes from surrounding towns and get pricing over the phone. As the consumer you have rights that are stated by FTC Funeral Rule.
• Burials on weekday mornings are typically the least expensive. Saturday afternoon is the most expensive because they are paying overtime for the crew doing the opening and closing.
• Does the cemetery charge maintenance and preservation costs? And if so, what are they? These costs are also known as “Perpetual Care”.
• If you run into problems or have questions about your state’s laws, most states have a licensing board that regulates the funeral industry.
• The Funeral Consumer Alliance can tell you if the funeral home you are looking at is cost effective. It monitors the current price for all funeral homes. Just check the website to make sure your state is included.
• If you die out of the country or state, call the funeral home in your home state that you plan to use. Let that funeral director make the plans directly with the other. You will pay less money if the contact is direct, one professional to another.

NJ Specific resources:
Use this link New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, Inc to download brochures and learn more about:

• New Jersey PrePaid Funeral Trust Fund
• SSI/MEDICAID and PREPAID FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS
• Irrevocable Trust Agreement for SSI/Medicaid/GA Purposes Only
• Public Assistance Financial Support.

Disclaimer: The material in this blog is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace, nor does it replace, consulting with a physician, lawyer, accountant, financial planner or other qualified professional.

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