Financing
Should arrangements
be paid in advance?
There is no correct
answer to this question because each individual's finances are unique.
There are many different classifications of society with a broad range
of economic resources. It is up to the individual to decide if it 'makes
sense' to fund their arrangements in advance.
There are some advantages
to establishing a mortuary trust to fund an advance plan.
- You make the decisions and set your
own limits
- Funding is in place and your services
are paid for regardless of when death occurs
- The financial burden on family members
is eliminated
- Peace of mind knowing that a plan
has been established
When an individual
pays Kiley Funeral Home in advance for services, we are required by
law to set up a mortuary trust (Title 32, Chapter 21, Sec. 1401). The
funds must be deposited into a financial institution (most commonly
in a bank or credit union) in the State of Maine within 10 days. The
funds must be placed into an account that draws interest. Once funds
have been deposited, a confirmation statement will be mailed to the
contact person on the account. Once the trust is established, the funeral
home has no access to the funds until the death of the individual, except
to transfer the funds to another savings institution or to close the
trust upon written instruction of the individual setting up the trust.
In some states, advance
funeral plans are funded by insurance sold by the funeral home. In Maine,
this is illegal and can be considered a conflict of interest because
some insurance products are commission-based where the funeral director
selling the plan is paid a commission based on the total dollar amount
of the service. It is possible to fund an advance plan with insurance
in the State of Maine, but it must be done through an insurance agent.
Kiley Funeral Home holds
all mortuary trust receipts in Merrill Merchants Bank, a local bank.
The trust assets are professionally managed by F. A. Peabody Administrative
Services www.fapeabody.com, a Maine company based in Houlton, Maine
with experience in mortuary trust management.
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