1) How can I establish my Funeral Wishes?

Meet with a funeral director/advance planning specialist to get your wishes in writing. After you do that you will want to share it with your family. An advance planning specialist can walk you through all the options and help you make the best decision for you and your family. 

2) How Much does a Funeral Cost? 

Funeral costs vary de- pending on the options a family desires. An advance plan- ner can help navigate the costs associated with services and options. They can tailor a plan to a family’s specific needs and budget.


3) Should I Consider Buying A Final Expense Insurance Plan? 

Purchasing a plan from a reputable, local funeral home is an excellent idea. We all plan for vacations, re- tirement, etc, but we fail to plan for our final expenses. When you meet with an advanced planning specialist, you can set up a plan that meets your needs and wishes. Once you begin paying on it, either all at once or in pay- ments it locks in today’s funeral expenses, so even when prices go up, your costs will not. It also secures that asset so that in the event of being in a Medicaid spend-down situation it is safe and does not need to be liquidated.

4) Are there any Government Funeral Benefits available?

There is a $255 death benefit from Social Security that can be issued to a surviving spouse. There are also numerous veteran benefits. Your funeral director can help walk you through all the benefits available to you.

5) Communicate With Your Family About Your Final Disposition.

While conversations about death and dying are never easy, it is essential to let your family know what you want. Advance arrangements not only ensure your wishes are carried out but also alleviate emotional over- spending, the stress of coming up with how to pay for the expenses, and having to wonder if you are doing what your loved one would want.

6) What are the Different Types Of Funerals?

There are so many different types of funerals from the traditional visitation and service at a church, to a memorial service at a funeral home, to scattering cremated remains at sea on a sunset cruise, and on from there. A funeral service should be unique and tailored to the life that was lived. It should be personal and people should walk away knowing they know that individual even better when it’s over than when it began. A funeral service is not a day in a lifetime but rather a lifetime in a day. It should be very individualized and it should honor, celebrate and remember the life that was lived because every life deserves that much.

7) What are the Important Things My Family Will Need To Do After My Death?

There are over 125 decisions that must be made after a death occurs. The majority of these can be taken care of by making advance arrangements. At McAlister-Smith we take families by the hand and walk them every step of the way. We have a “Next Steps” booklet that we provide to every family we serve. We also have a Director of Partnerships that works to foster relationships in our community that can assist families in the many different tasks they must take care of in the wake of a death.

8) What are my Funeral Rights?

The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule: Helping Consumers Make Informed Decisions During Difficult Times.

When a loved one dies, grieving family members and friends often are confronted with dozens of decisions about the funeral – all of which must be made quickly and under great emotional duress. What kind of funeral should it be? What funeral provider should be used? Should the body be buried, cremated, or donated to science? What are consumers legally required to buy? What other arrangements should be planned? And what is it going to cost? 

Under the FTC’s Funeral Rule, consumers have the right to get a general price list from a fu- neral provider when they ask about funeral arrangements. They also have the right to choose the funeral goods and services they want (with some exceptions), and funeral providers must state this right on the general price list. If state or local law requires purchase of any particular item, the funeral provider must disclose it on the price list, with a reference to the specific law. The funeral provider may not refuse, or charge a fee, to handle a casket bought elsewhere, and a provider offering cremations must make alternative containers available. 

The FTC conducts undercover inspections every year to make sure that funeral homes are complying with the agency’s Funeral Rule. The Funeral Rule applies anytime a consumer seeks in- formation from a funeral provider, whether the consumer is asking about preneed or at-need arrangements.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/funeral-rule