Nevertheless there are many sound reasons to justify why this should be thought about. Personal circumstances may be the main consideration. It may be you want to have a sense of responsibility and independence. It may be that you have no immediate family or your only relatives live in a different part of the country or even abroad. In these circumstances can you be sure that your wishes are known and would be respected?
In planning your own funeral arrangements you have the knowledge that your particular wishes and choices are recorded and will be honoured at the time of your death.
You may have experienced the loss of a loved one previously and will know the grief and distress that can exist. You may worry how your family will cope both emotionally and financially.
Experience has proved that whatever your personal circumstances, four main reasons prevail that apply to everyone.
Prearranging or prepaying your funeral eliminates all these problems.
Personalising your funeral arrangements after discussing and instructing ourselves on all aspects of your eventual funeral.
By doing so it is possible for us to advise you of the cost of your chosen funeral at today's prices. Whilst the cost for the Funeral Director services are guaranteed, fees paid by the Funeral Director on your behalf, ie disbursements, are only guaranteed if they remain in line with the annual Retail Price Index. Should they exceed the annual rate of the RPI then you will be asked for extra monies to cover same when the funeral occurs.
To prearrange or prepay your funeral in advance provides you with great peace of mind, freedom from worry
about what the future may hold, and allows you to continue your day to day life in the knowledge that you have
made proper provision for all aspects of your eventual funeral.
It is possible to achieve this situation without any restrictions as to your age or your health condition.
When thinking about your own wishes, you may wish to consider the following:
Can I cancel my plan in the future?
Should you for any reason wish to cancel your funeral plan in the future your original sum will be returned to you in full with no deduction.
Can my plan be altered or added to in the future?
Yes. Should you decide to make alterations to your funeral arrangements, your plan can be changed at any point in time. Should you add extra items to your plan, these extra items will be costed at the time of the alterations and a further payment requested if your plan is fully paid up. If, however, you are paying by instalments your wishes will be noted and the price of any additional requests will be held. The family will then be asked to pay a supplementary invoice for these extras after the service has taken place.
Can I take out a plan for someone else?
Yes. Simply complete, with our help, the relevant documentation. We can arrange for all the correspondence to be sent directly to you and we guarantee total confidentiality at all times.
Can I pay for my chosen plan by instalments?
Yes. The cost of your chosen plan can be spread over a maximum of two years. No interest charge will be made provided your chosen plan is paid in full within two years. Should your death occur before your plan is paid in full, your funeral will take place according to your wishes. Your next of kin or estate would be required to pay any balance outstanding on the plan.
What documentation will I receive?
You will receive two Certificates of Entitlement for your chosen plan. We recommend you keep one copy with your own personal papers, and give the other copy to your next of kin or solicitor. It is also very important that you advise your family, your solicitor or executor that you have purchased a funeral prepayment plan with us, and that they are aware of the action they should take at the time of need.
What happens if I move away from the area?
The original sum paid by you will be refunded to either yourself or a funeral director of your choice. We can assist with a list of available funeral directors in your new area and would recommend checking prices of funerals at that time as funeral costs vary from area to area.
Arrangement of meeting with us.
We can arrange to meet you in the privacy of your own home or you may wish to meet us in any one of our offices. Meetings can be arranged for any time during the day or in the evening, either on weekdays or at the weekend.
The Funeral Trustee has been created in order to secure compliance with government legislation, namely The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) and FSMA (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 which came into effect 1st January 2002.
The new legislation safeguards customers who wish to prepay their funeral by setting down rules and regulations in order that the plan that they purchase is held in protective trust.
Torbay & District, Drakes, Maunders and Andrews funeral plans comply with the legislation and requirements of Trust based funeral plans within the guidelines described below.
More than half of the trustee directors are not connected with Torbay & District, Drakes, Maunders and Andrews.
The trustees have appointed an independent discretionary investment manager to manage the assets. The manager is authorised to conduct investment business by the FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY and will be regulated by that authority. The manager is not connected to Torbay & District, Drakes, Maunders or Andrews.
Annual accounts with respect to the assets and liabilities will be audited by qualified regulated independent registered auditors.
Every three years a qualified actuary will calculate and verify the assets and liabilities.
Monies received and held for all Torbay & District, Drakes, Maunders and Andrews funeral plans will be subject to the above controls in order to comply with the FSMA thereby honouring our commitment to our clients chosen plan.
How can I make my wishes known if I don’t want to purchase a Funeral Plan?
Time and again family members or close friends of a deceased have said how useful and special it has been, at a very difficult time, to know that they are carrying out exactly what their loved ones would have wished.
Therefore we offer, free of charge, the opportunity to formulate a simple plan for you to keep, detailing your wishes for a preferred funeral service. We will provide you with copies of your wishes in order that you may pass these to your family and/or solicitors or executors.
