Pre paid funerals

firesidemaid

i don't know - ?doubt it. the best thing would probably be to write a will and somehow put a certain amount into an account/in trust to be used to pay for one if required ( i hate talking about these things).

you could put enough money in it to cover a funeral and also arrange any particular wishes with a solicitor etc - ?i am sure they are used to dealing with this.

Katykat

Firesmaid- DWP do not count pre paid funerals as deprivation of assets. If you are worried about your parents using their savings & you are telling them that you will pay for their funerals when the time comes, would it not be a good idea to purchase a plan for them now you can pay for it? That way, you will fix it at todays price & you will not be hit with a larger bill at the time. Another advantage to this, is your parents can actually choose exactly what they want. I know it is a sensitive subject & not easily discussed with your loved ones, but your parents have actually approached it themselves anway. Also, you can opt for a monthly payment plan, which probably wouldn't be an option if you elect to just pay when the funeral tkes place.
OAP, have you clarified the terms & conditions of the plan for the 2nd person. I'm saying this, because it usually takes a long time to firstly sort out the deceased affairs ( probate, wills etc) & then to sell a house & distribute the assets. ( my Grandma's took 2 years). You might find that the funeral company want their money long before then. Just someting to think about.

oap

laurel7172 wrote: »

Does anyone know if these plans are available for under 50's?

I have a chronic medical condition-it's not terminal as such, but if it gets worse it might be... Or I might live a completely normal life. I don't know, and nor do the doctors. But, in the crisis that led to its diagnosis, I did almost die, and it's made me realise that, should something happen to me, I'd like to have taken some of the strain off my parents by having something like this in place. It's hard enough for a parent to bury a child.

So, does anyone know if you can do this when you're under 50, please?

Age Concern do it for the over fifites as far as I know.oap

Errata

This company do pre-paid for under 50's. There will be more.
http://www.avalon-trustee.co.uk/eng/under-50's-plan/

oap

Well yes we had thought of second funeral, but just cannot afford two prepaid funerals, we have not a lot to sort out, not a lot of capital, but hopefully enough left to cover second funeral, although we understand that they do wait.
Maybe we can put some aside after paying for the Age Concern one we are paying for over twelve months.

Age concern score here b ecause Co-op wanted us to name who? and we cannot do that can we? Age Concern charged us seventyfive pounds extra to cover funeral plan for whoever goes first. Also we were able to choose our own funeral director, but had to ask their permission first!

It is an awful thought and we have delayed too long, the costs are going up all the time and yes you can put your choice of hyms of whatever you want with your will.

It is good for the first person left as all you do is pick up the phone and it is all done for you at a time when you may not be thinking straight. I personally would have liked a burial, but they cost too much, so have had to plump for a cremation.

My friend made us think about it as she had paid four years ago for her and her husband and her husband died last year and the cost of the funeral had doubled had she not done it. I think I mentioned it somewhere on this thread.

Hope we have helped somebody.

Best wishes,, oap

morag1202

laurel7172 wrote: »

Does anyone know if these plans are available for under 50's?

The co-op do. http://www.co-operative.coop/funeralcare/planning-ahead/

Mojisola

oap wrote: »

Well yes we had thought of second funeral, but just cannot afford two prepaid funerals, we have not a lot to sort out, not a lot of capital, but hopefully enough left to cover second funeral, although we understand that they do wait.

Maybe we can put some aside after paying for the Age Concern one we are paying for over twelve months.

Age concern score here b ecause Co-op wanted us to name who? and we cannot do that can we? Age Concern charged us seventyfive pounds extra to cover funeral plan for whoever goes first.

My parents did this. They paid off the first one which was in joint names in installments. When that one was finished, they started a second one. I'm sure that the extra money paid for the joint one was discounted off the second, but don't know if that still happens.

davidbaa68

scotsbob wrote: »

£2500 seems very expensive. In this part of the world it is about £1500.

I guess like any other service you are best to shop around.

Hi to everyone reading, this is my first post on here, I hope it helps.

I am an independent funeral director in Liverpool and just want to give you some insight into funeral planning and funeral services per se.

First of all I need to comment on scotsbob's quote above. The price quoted of £1413 seems very reasonable but to compare it with other funeral services you need to consider the statements underneath the quote.

"Additional Services

In addition to our fixed price service we also accommodate requests for additional services. The Funeral Director will advise you of the additional costs of specific services when making the arrangements with you. They may include some of the following:

Choice of a different coffin style.
Hire of a limousine for the funeral (+ £130).
Arrangements for and attendance at a service prior to cremation (+ £150).
Embalming preparations and use of private viewing chapel (+ £120).

There is no limousine provided which is fine if you don't want one, if you want to go into a church or other venue before the crematorium that costs £150 extra and if you want to see the deceased at the office of the funeral company that is £120 extra. Lastly there is no mention of a ministers fee which in Liverpool is £120 for a service only at the crematorium, if you go into church first that could be anywhere from £170 to £315.

The last issue is that this company requires full payment in advance. Not all funeral companies require this.

Anyone who is considering purchasing a pre paid funeral plan should not only contact the big companies i.e. Age Concern, Dignity and the Co Op, but please also consider the independent firms. In my experience you may get even better value for money and may be surprised by the level of service you get.

If there is anything you would like to know about funeral service please don't hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer.

Take care.

David.

davidbaa68

Hi OAP,

I have just posted some information onto this thread, however I've just also read your post regarding naming the beneficiary of the plan.

Perfect Choice is the plan provider of the National Association of Funeral Directors. With their plan you may name more than one beneficiary of the plan and whoever passes away first the plan is used for.

Please be careful when signing up for a funeral plan, I helped some friends sort theirs out recently, they had a quote from the Co Op and when I finally arranged the plan for them I saved them £4000, because the Co Op had added on things that were just unnecessary.

Kind regards,

David

davidbaa68

laurel7172 wrote: »

Does anyone know if these plans are available for under 50's?

I have a chronic medical condition-it's not terminal as such, but if it gets worse it might be... Or I might live a completely normal life. I don't know, and nor do the doctors. But, in the crisis that led to its diagnosis, I did almost die, and it's made me realise that, should something happen to me, I'd like to have taken some of the strain off my parents by having something like this in place. It's hard enough for a parent to bury a child.

So, does anyone know if you can do this when you're under 50, please?

The plans are available for any person of any age, talk to a funeral director (I recommend independent, but I am one so I would) they will guide you through everything, Arranging the funeral plan when you are well also means you won't add anything you don't want.

Take care,

David.