Planning Ahead
Why Should I Plan Ahead?
Not everyone likes to plan ahead, but pre-planning your funeral arrangements not only gives you peace of mind about your final wishes being honored, but alleviates some of the stress and burden your loved ones are going through as they experience the grief associated with the loss.
The staff of is happy to assist you with your funeral pre-needs by helping you make decisions about your funeral service in advance and guide you in helping eliminate some of the unnecessary stress brought on by a loved one’s death.
Why Pre-Plan A Funeral?
Often people are surprised to learn that without pre-planning, their final wishes might not be honored.
HOW CAN THAT BE? Without specific instructions, the party or parties in charge would be your legal next of kin as described in Pennsylvania Law. That may or may not be the person you trust most.
If you are not confident your next of kin will fulfill your wishes or if you are concerned there could be disagreement between next of kin over the fulfillment of your wishes, you should know that
you have the right to designate any one or more persons, relative or not, to be in charge of your disposition.
You can do this by executing an
“Allegation of Contrary Intent”
as set forth in the PA Probate, Estates & Fiduciaries Code, 20 Pa. C.S.A. Section 305.
Free of charge, we can provide an allegation of contrary intent form for you to complete in order to ensure your preferences for burial or cremation are fulfilled.
An allegation of contrary intent can be a helpful document to avoid disagreements between next of kin over fulfillment of your wishes. This is part of what we provide regardless of the type of pre-planning selected.
There are 3 benefits to planning ahead, peace of mind, economy and personal choice.
Peace of mind there are more than 150 decisions that have to be made within the first day or two following the death. Knowing that your final arrangements are taken care of and will not be a burden on those you love. Those stressful decisions on top of the stress of grieving a loss can be eliminated by arranging your final wishes ahead of time. If those decisions are made, your loved ones aren’t left wondering what you would have wanted and how they should proceed with funeral plans. With those decisions out of the way, your loved one can begin the healing process sooner.
Economy You control the expenses and eliminate the potential for emotional overspending.
Personal choice Have it your way by expressing and documenting your wishes eliminating any doubt about what you would have wanted and all without time pressure or emotion.
We offer several options to plan ahead. Hospice Care Pre-Planning
Since March 29, 2010, without any financial commitment or payment whatsoever by the client or client family, it is our company policy that for individuals under hospice care, we offer a price guaranteed quote honored for six months from the date on the Statement of Goods & Services Selected. The price guarantee is exclusive of CASH ADVANCES.
No Cost Pre-Planning
Another option is to make all the decisions and selections without financial commitment. At time of need, the arrangements are reviewed with your next of kin and they would then be responsible for payment at that time at the then current prices.
Funded Pre-Planning
If you are interested in funded pre-planning, we offer single payment and installment payment options both of which can be used with a basic fund plan or a price guaranteed plan. Funded pre-planning can be accomplished with an Irrevocable Trust or with a final expense insurance policy.
We encourage families to meet with us before an emergency and welcome the opportunity to explain all options and of course, with no cost or obligation.
You can meet with us in the comfort of your own home or the privacy of our office. Alternatively, you can click “preplan online” below under “Where do I start” and fill in as much as you are comfortable with.
Whatever is best for you, we welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss further.
Where Do I Start?
First, check out our preplanning checklist to help you consider all your possibilities. Then you can preplan online using our form to create your personalized arrangements or you can schedule a time to meet with our staff to discuss your options and make a plan.
