Hi Emily, I’m not surprised to hear t

Hi Emily, I’m not surprised to hear these shady tactics. Remember—-prepaying isn’t a magical “take care of everything” solution. You can plan ahead, including setting aside money for your cremation in a payable on death account at your bank with a named beneficiary, without paying a funeral business ahead of time. Your elder law atty is wrong to recommend it unless you’re facing a Medicaid spend-down. Also, all funeral businesses must give price quotes by phone. Calling five or six in a thirty mile radius will probably find a direct cremation for $1,000 or less. There, that’s your planning, done and dusted. The next step is giving all this information to whoever it is—spouse, kids, etc.—who’s going to be the one to hear of your death and who will be responsible for calling the funeral or cremation business. Prepaying doesn’t accomplish any of that—it just gives your money to a funeral business ahead of time and leaves you with a false sense of security.

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