Planning and paying for your funeral through estate planning may be a good idea but finding out the actual cost of the funeral isn’t always easy.
A survey conducted recently to learn how easy it is to find out the cost of a funeral in advance ran into some interesting information as reported in Elder Law Answers “Getting Funeral Pricing Information Is Difficult, Survey Shows.”
The Funeral Consumers Alliance and the Consumer Federation of America conducted a survey of 150 funeral homes in the U.S. to see how easy it was to obtain information about funeral costs. The groups found that only 25% of the funeral homes revealed costs on their websites. Alarmingly, 16% did not reveal prices on their website or after being asked by email and phone.
The Federal Trade Commission requires that pricing information be given over the phone or by a price list when customers visit the funeral home. The consumer groups are calling for the FTC to expand the rule to make disclosing prices on funeral home websites mandatory.
Obtaining funeral costs and getting an estate plan often go hand in hand. Many people choose to provide the funds for their funerals in their estate plans and it is difficult to do so without having some idea of the costs.
An estate planning attorney could give guidance on finding the pertinent information or estimating the cost.
Reference: Elder Law Answers (April 12, 2016) “Getting Funeral Pricing Information Is Difficult, Survey Shows.”
