How to Pay for Funeral Expenses

Video Transcript

"Today's topic is how to pay funeral expenses. When you think about funeral expenses, the price can vary dramatically, from one funeral to the next, depending on the family's personal choice, of whether they pick out a two or three day visitation, and the funeral service, whether they do a direct burial or a direct cremation. All these things equate into what the total cost of the funeral would be. Also you get into what type casket you select what type volt you select, and what cemetery you are going to be buried in that would add to the cost of the funeral. But how do you pay for these expenses? Well made up into those expenses are also things like, removal. Picking up the body at the place of death, bringing them to the funeral home. Whether the family chooses to for the person to be embalmed, whether they visitation for one night or two nights. Each of those things adds to the cost of the funeral. The facilities themselves, the funeral home. Whether you have it at the church or the funeral home. The type hearse the type flower car, all of those things equate into the total cost of the funeral. Some families choose to use a credit card. Some families choose to pay for the funeral expenses all at one time. Some families have life insurance that they will assign to the funeral home to pay for the expenses. But in today's society, many families choose to pre-arrange or pay for the funeral in advance. Meaning in advance of the need, in advance of the death. Many families come to the funeral home, they select the type service, the type casket, the type volt, the type arrangements they want for themselves or a family member. And then the funeral home will get a total of what that cost would be at today's price. Then these individuals can put that on monthly payments of three years, five years, or ten years down the road, and make payments on the cost of the funeral. And the good thing about that is, is many funeral homes will walk in or guarantee that price be at today's price and it maybe ten or fifteen years down the road. The way they can do that is they take the funds that the family gives them and place that in some vehicle, either a trust fund or insurance policy in the deceased name that will accumulate or grow with interest from today until the time of need, when the death occurs. So that's one of the ways that families today, pay for their funeral expenses. The other is they use their life insurance. The other is some family's divide the funeral cost up and put it on credit cards. Put two, three or four credit cards, or four family member's credit cards. So that each one of them can make a monthly payment. And some funeral homes also provide a payment plan, to where some family can pay some minimal monthly payments for three or five year period of time. So, that's how funeral expenses are paid for."