12/20/2011—AARP Magazine takes on prepaid funerals and turns to FCA for advice:
In 1973, 49-year-old Evie Robinson of McComb, Mississippi, bought a prepaid full-burial policy from the local Hartman Funeral Home. But by the time she passed away in 2008, at age 84, the policy had gone missing; unaware it existed, Robinson’s family paid Hartman $8,128 to lay their mother to rest. They later found the policy among her possessions. Evie’s daughter, Johnnye Denman, presented the document to the funeral home and asked for a refund. Too late, they said.
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“Some prepaid plans can actually cost you more in payments over time than the amount they’ll pay out on your funeral,” he says. Instead, set up a “payable upon death” bank account. It will earn interest, be available for an emergency, and still provide financial support to your family when you pass away. Most important: Talk to your spouse and children about funeral plans. “Avoiding the topic won’t stave off death,” he says, “but it will make the funeral more difficult, and likely more expensive, for survivors.”
