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The Cost of Funerals, And How You Can Prepare For Them

By Marilyn Katz

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 13Apr2010 Word count: 535 Viewed: 263 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Nobody likes to talk about the death of a loved one. Or at least, nobody likes to start the conversation. But I have found that once people do start talking about concerns and preparing for them, there is actually a sense of security.

Many older people live on fixed incomes that are not very large. They have been responsible people for a long time, but just cannot set aside any money to save for final expenses when they need their money to live on now. Their families will have to come up with money for the expenses associated with funerals, burials, settling debts, and other things. But many middle class families have a hard time coming up with the cash when they need it.

So on top of all of the stress and loss when a loved one passes away, the family also has to worry about coming up with thousands of dollars. An average funeral and burial can cost eight thousand dollars or more. In addition, there may be other costs. Some family members or friends may have to travel so they will need meals, a place to stay, and transportation. They may also lose time from work, and not everybody has paid vacation time.

One way to deal with this need is to purchase a product called burial or final expense insurance. It is, simply, a kind of whole life insurance. The death beefit of the policy is fairy small whe compared to other coverage.

These usually range from about twenty-five hundred dollars to twenty-five thousand dollars. Since the amount is small, they have been designed to be easier for older people to apply for. They may not have strict underwriting guidelines, so older people can get accepted. They may be simplified or guaranteed policies so almost all older people will qualify.

Sometimes an older person will choose to purchase a policy for themselves. People in middle or early retirement age may find very affordable rates. Sometimes this is not possible, but a family may chip in to pay the premiums. They will purchase the policy on the life of their older family member, but a grown child or other loved one may own the policy.

The idea behind final expense policies is that they will provide cash to pay for funerals, burials, and other expenses when a loved one dies. This can be a simple and affordable way to plan.

Not everybody needs a final expense policy. If the older person, or their family, has plenty of cash on hand, they can rely upon that. But many older people need their income and savings for their current living arrangements. And families do not always have this cash on hand either. To avoid having to deplete savings or take out a loan, they may plan ahead by purchasing one of these burial policies.

It is not always easy to start talking about making plans for the end of life. But once some plans are in place, it can actually provide some ease for everybody involved. The older people know that they will have their final arrangements in place. And the rest of the family knows they can provide for this without going broke.

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