Have you paid for your funeral?

[clayspaniel]

Have you paid for your funeral in advance? Just wondering how people afford this so relatives aren't faced with paying for it e.g. funeral plan?

Just to say that my dad died abroad very suddenly and it was a straight to cremation job which you don't attend. We had a memorial service for him back in the UK which was lovely and put his ashes in a niche with my mum's who had died several years previous so there was closure.

For those of you saying you don’t want a funeral, totally respect that but there are still hefty costs involved. It costs money to be buried or cremated even without any kind of service or ceremony. I believe it’s called disbursements.

This is from our local council website.

Cremation Without Ceremony costs £1,395 in England and Wales, and £1,230 in Scotland

A direct cremation costs about £1700. Burial about £4400 for basic coffin and service and £3200 for cremation with basic coffin and service (so no flowers, music, order of service, or lunch/refreshments).
Life insurance takes about a month to pay out. Funeral insurance (like over 50s) if you miss a payment that’s it you don’t get the money and you could end up putting a lot more in than it pays out if you live long.
My husband died unexpectedly but fortunately his work gave me an advance on his salary to cover it (he was paid monthly then twice a year go a lump sum based on billables).

Nothing like a spot of cancer to concentrate the mind beautifully! I bought a no-frills Co-Op Funeral Plan back in 2000(cheapo coffin,one car,disbursements) after I had my C.dx.. V. small family who live in the US and if they want to provide flowers, so be it.
I arranged my mum's funeral and she'd pre-paid with the Co-op years and years before (I think that she and her 2 friends made a bit of an outing of it), same deal as me, but costing 1/3 of mine. The disbursements really do grow year on year.
My friend here in the Uk is a Humanist celebrant and she's going to do the talking part. Mind you, she'll probably be talking to herself...

I've left instructions that I don't want to have one. If any of my family are still alive when I die, and they want a funeral for me, they can pay for it themselves

It still costs money to die, whether there is a funeral or not! We don't leave corpses at the side of the road; they have to be buried or cremated. And it costs.

Martins money tips advised not to go for a prepaid funeral plan as it’s highly likely it won’t cover the full costs. I trust that site.
You’d be better writing down your own eulogy and directions for what coffin, flowers, music, wake etc and starting a bank account in your name and putting the money in it. Write it into your will that the money in that account is to be used for your funeral. And what to do if it’s too much or too little. Make sure the executor knows where the will and funeral info is kept. Leave a list of companies which you get goods and services from so these can be cancelled. Job done. You get what you want. Loved ones have solid directions so no worry about what you would have wanted, and money for the costs is ready. Don’t put that in anyone else’s name or a joint account, for legal reasons better to leave on your name.

No, but keep meaning to. My DM has paid up front for hers and what a blessing that was, since all her money has now gone in care fees. We will use the same local funeral director as we did for my late DF, they are a family business and are training their son to join the firm. I'm confident they'll still be there when we need them.