Three Ways You Can Financially Prepare For The Death Of A Loved One
It can be extremely difficult when a family member passes away. While your immediate focus is on taking care of the arrangements to honor their life, a longer term issue will be taking care of the expenses associated with their funeral. Funerals can be sudden, but there are ways that you can prepare for the inevitable by pre-planning for it now. Here are three things that you can do to plan for the expense of a death and funeral today to prevent hardship tomorrow:
Buy a small life insurance policy
One of the best ways to plan ahead for a funeral is to have a small life insurance policy on every member of your family. It doesn't have to be large - it could be as little as $10,000. This small amount will cost pennies per month, but it will protect your family from further heartache than is necessary in the event of a death. By having this small policy in place, you will be indemnified against any kind of accident that may happen.
Pre-pay for a funeral plot
Many people want to be buried next to their loved ones, but if you don't plan for it, you may not have the opportunity. Find a cemetery that you like and find out the costs of buying plots there. The cemetery will often negotiate with you and work on some options so that you can get the plots that you want, even if you don't have all the money together yet. It may sound funny to have a mortgage on your plot, but it can be quite beneficial if you have a specific place you want to be buried. Even if you decide not to buy at that time, it can be good to get an idea of how much a plot will cost for when you do want to buy it. Periodically check back and see what options are available so that you can have up-to-date information.
Work with a financial adviser
Financial advisers are there to help you with all of the conundrums that life can throw your way. As a result, they often have connections or ideas of ways that you can prepare for death without it being too big of a burden. There are a lot of different options out there, including side accounts and financing mechanisms that they can introduce you to that will help ease the financial burden of death.
