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| | In the United States more than 7 million people have pre-planned their funeral. Here in Massachusetts funeral pre-arrangements must be done with a licensed funeral director. Funeral directors must be licensed by the Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner when placing the money used to pay for the pre-arrangements into irrevocable insurance trusts. Many people do become familiar with pre-arrangements because they are required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during a "spend down" situation with Long Term Care Assistance. A "spend down" occurs when a family is applying for long term care assistance, the individuals assets cannot exceed a specific amount. Our directors are very familiar with the formalities and legal documents necessary for the filing for long term care. We are also very willing to help you with the paperwork and the "absolute assignment" of a beneficiary to existing insurance policies. The Dept. of Transitional Assistance in certain situations requires life insurance policies with a cash value to assign a funeral home as beneficiary.
Preplanning enables you to:
- make sure your preferences for the type of funeral service you desire are fulfilled
- ease the anxieties of your survivors by minimizing the number of decisions they must make
- have the option to pay in advance so you can control costs. (By pre-paying, your assets are protected and can grow at competitive interest rates to offset the rise in funeral costs over time.)
- relieve the survivors who are incapable of or unavailable to make decisions at the time of death
How to Plan Ahead
Step 1: Arrange a conference with one of our funeral directors.
At this appointment you can express your choices regarding a funeral service. The funeral director will explain the full range of funeral arrangement options available to you and answer your questions. There is no charge for this service.
Step 2: Individual Estate Record.
We will provide you with a booklet that you may fill out to record your wishes & personal information. You should keep this form with other valuable papers, review it periodically and update it when you feel it is necessary. We keep a detailed copy of your the funeral arrangements on file.
Step 3: Choose your pre-financing option.
You may choose to pay for the funeral in full or you may qualify for a payment plan through one of the burial insurance companies. It allows you to arrange the specified service you desire based on today's prices and be assured of adequate funds for the payment of future services.
Step 4: Share with your family. Offer your thoughts and desires to your family and listen carefully to their response. Give your family's ideas special attention since your funeral will most directly affect them. It is important to include their suggestions in your plans.
Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home and Porcella Funeral Home pre-arrangement funds are placed into permanent insurance trusts to assure that the money will be available when it is needed. The funds are in the individual's name and under their social security number. The funeral home does not hold the funds.
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