A funeral is
an event where people gather together to express their grief for
the death of a loved one and to share with and support others who
are also experiencing grief.
A funeral provides an organized opportunity for the family and friends
of the deceased to acknowledge the loss, to state the important
role this person had in their lives, to recognize the loved one's
contributions and accomplishments and to prepare for life without
the deceased.
A funeral honors the
special unique human life that was lived. It is a final farewell.
It can be a religious ceremony, a humanistic or contemporary service.
Your prearrangement will detail the type of funeral service that
is appropriate for you.
The
benefits of making funeral prearrangements are peace of mind and
financial security. When you make funeral prearrangements, you have
the peace of mind knowing you have planned ahead. By doing so, you
have selected a meaningful funeral service which will comfort your
family and spare your family the difficult and stressful task of
making arrangements at time of need. Funeral prearrangement is a
growing trend in funeral service. Planning ahead just makes good
sense. Anyone can prearrange, regardless of health or age.
Individuals may or may
not opt to pay for their funeral prearrangement plans.
A funeral prepayment may be made in full or only part. There are
two methods which include funeral insurance or a trust account.
In both cases, the funeral home guarantees that you will have the
funeral you have selected and paid for. In all cases, the money
will earn interest. The interest remains in the fund and accumulates
over time. The intent is for the interest to keep up with the cost
of inflation. The funeral prearrangement that you have fully funded
is thus inflation proof.
Funeral prearrangements do not need to be funded. Individuals may
choose to provide only their vital statistics, the information used
for the death certificate and obituary purposes. A casket, vault
or urn may or may not be selected at that time. No money is deposited.
These records are kept in the funeral home's files. When the need
arises, the children or other family members will complete the arrangements.
In this case however, the price of the funeral will be at the current
price indicated on the general price list at the time of death.
Preparing and planning now can assure the type of funeral service
appropriate for you or your loved ones. Eventually, almost one half
of nursing home residents will receive some form of government assistance.
By planning and preparing before your loved one must seek public
assistance, you can insure that funds are available for the right
type of funeral arrangements for your family member. Your options
will be greatly limited if you wait until after your family member
is receiving assistance to plan their funeral arrangements.
Even though it seems difficult, plan now for your family member's
funeral arrangements. The cost of paying for personal care for a
loved one can take the financial resources of that family member
in a short amount of time. Plan the funeral before circumstances
require a person to apply for assistance.
Prearrangements are refundable and/or transferable under certain
circumstances. If the prearrangement is funded using a trust account,
you are entitled to receive your original deposit and all interest.
Insurance funded prearrangements are subject to the rules and guidelines
of the insurance company. All prearranged and prefunded funerals
may be transferred to another funeral home at the direction of the
purchaser. Prepaid prearrangements that are irrevocable under Maryland
statute are transferable between funeral homes, however the principal
and interest are not able to be refunded to the purchaser.
Bank trust accounts will generate a 1099 under the social security
number of the buyer. The interest is taxable. There are no taxes
involved when the funeral is funded using an insurance product.
You can personalize
your funeral service or the funeral of a loved one by making
prearrangements. By making prearrangements, you can select a
funeral service which has great personal meaning to you and your
family. Our staff is available to you at anytime to discuss the
benefits of pre-arranging. Please feel free to contact us by
telephone or via email at Ruck.PreneedServices@ruckfuneralhomes.com to schedule an appointment or
request information. The service celebrates that a life has been
lived. It can provide comfort for loved ones. At Ruck Funeral Homes,
we are people you can rely on. We'll
be there.