PREARRANGEMENTS

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.

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