The advantages of planning ahead
Planning your funeral in advance is a sensible way of ensuring your wishes are adhered to as well as sparing your family or loved ones unnecessary worry about arrangements in their time of grief.
There is no age limit. Young or old, the best time to plan is now. Planning leaves nothing to chance and gives you one less thing to worry about.
It is also important to realise that once your plan is made you are not locked into it. At Waimea Richmond we are there to help with your questions and concerns. Since the 1920s the Day family has been assisting the people of Nelson with their funerals and our funeral planning offers flexibility to make alterations to the arrangements as circumstances change.
Waimea Richmond has access to a number of well established and reputable prepaid plans. These include the Waimea Richmond Funeral Plan Trust and The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand Prepaid Funeral Plan.
Two main options - Pre–planning or Prepaying
Pre–planned funerals: You may like, at this stage, to pre–plan your funeral without paying for it. You can choose the type of service you want. You make your wishes known to us in confidence and we record them. There is no charge for this service.
Prepayment: The next step after pre–planning is prepayment. At this stage you receive all the benefits of prepayment. These are: inflation proofing, exemption from asset testing and the fact that your funds are safe.
Prepaid funeral funds are lodged in a specific trust, independent of Waimea Richmond Funeral Services and are fully secured with the bank. Funds deposited in the Waimea Richmond Trust Fund are secure and can be released only by the presentation of a death certificate.
“Pre–planning and prepaying
not only gives you peace of mind but also
significant financial benefits for you and your
family.” – Francis Day (Dip F.S.)
Guard against inflation
By fully paying for a funeral at today’s prices, regardless of when death occurs, your prepaid funeral as planned will not cost your estate any more than when you paid. Inflation increases are covered by the interest gained by the trust fund. Naturally if your family wants to make additions to what was planned that will be extra.
Help protect your pension or income
Prepaid funerals are now excluded from Government asset testing for long–term residential care, so the amount you pay towards the funeral plan does not get assessed as part of your total assets. This means that there is no financial penalty for your careful planning. If you have to go in to resthome care any money you put in to the trust (up to $10,000) will not be used to pay for that care.
Reduce the burden on your family
Because you have made many of the major decisions in the pre–planning process and because you have prepaid for the funeral, the financial and emotional burden on your family and loved ones is reduced.
Security of your investment
Prepaid funeral costs are lodged in a specific trust, independent of Waimea Richmond Funeral Services and are fully secured with the National Bank. Waimea Richmond acts as custodian of the trust and has no financial interest in the trust. In the unlikely event of anything happening to Waimea Richmond Funeral Services the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand will become custodians.
Choices
Prepayment ensures that your express wishes are carried out. You can choose the type of funeral service you want, including readings, funeral celebrant, music, casket etc. You make these choices in your own time, free from the anxiety and stress that surrounds death.
Flexibility
Waimea Richmond Funeral Services can help you carefully document your wishes and you will receive a copy of your plan. However, it is important to realise that you are free to change the arrangements at a later time if you wish. If the funeral is to be in another town we can arrange for the funeral to be carried out by another FDANZ member.
Payment options
Waimea Richmond makes prepaying easy with a variety of payment options. You can pay for funeral expenses only. You can pay small regular or irregular instalments or you can pay by lump sum. Talk to Waimea Richmond about your options.
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