As they say, “Death is not the OPPOSITE of life, but a part of it.”
Having a funeral services plan is also important in planning since it is a part of life. I remember 2 years ago, a relative died in our home while sleeping. Since I am the doctor of the family, I was immediately called and when I saw the body of my relative, I already knew he is already dead for about an hour before I came. Knowing that getting an ambulance to get him to the Emergency Room in the hospital is already futile. The next step, I didn’t know what to do. I was trained to deal with being alive to nearing death situations and not already in dead situations.
That’s when I called up my sister. I knew she has a funeral services plan. As I called her and as she calls her funeral service company, that’s when I knew the importance of having funeral plans before this kind of situations will ever occur again. The ease of transport of the body, the worrying on how to pay on the spot and the heaviness of the situation while grieving for your loved one who just passed away are all somehow much easier to handle than not having anything that moment in time. It is also like in an emergency where you need to immediately take care of and you do it while crying. So let me tell you this:
- Get at least 1 funeral service plan for your family if you don’t have any budget since this plan could be transferred to anyone you desire, or whoever comes first in your family.
- If you do have a budget, get more than one funeral service plan. Consider the size of your family.
- A burial lot or columbarium lot is not a part of the funeral services plan you are planning to get. It is bought separately. It is cheaper if you buy it while you still do not need it. It is more expensive if you buy it when you already need it.
For example, this is a quote from HEAVENLY PEACE MEMORIAL GARDEN (August 2017).
*different memorial lots differ in price depends on the location and the lot type.
Now, let’s see how much it will cost if a person dies today. This infographic was taken in my old post, “The Cost of Dying in the Philippines”, and is still true up to now:
Expenses above are usually for 4 days viewing only. The more days you extend, the more expensive it gets. The usual price for an extension of viewing is around 5,000 – 25,000/day depending on the type of chapel you like and food that you serve.
As you can see in the infographic, it did not include the last hospital bill in case the deceased was still brought to the hospital before dying. The last hospital bill can range from 100,000++ to millions of pesos, depending upon the extent and gravity of the last confinement. That is whether the deceased was still taken to an Intensive Care Unit or Emergency Room prior of demise.
My pieces of advice before that are still true up to now:
- If you are going to choose between life insurance and memorial plan, go with life insurance first.If you have extra money, don’t hesitate to get at least one memorial plan for your family.
- Life insurance can pay for: last hospital bills, your existing debts, final expenses (funeral),possible estate tax and provide for your dependents that you left behind.
- Make sure you carefully computed how much life insurance you need.
How much life insurance Do You EXACTLY need? Here is How to Compute
- If you can also buy a memorial plan, the better because when are faced with actual death, you wouldn’t know what to do, believe me. Having a memorial plan will help you with the most immediate needs, like getting the body, preparing the body, and making sure there is a chapel for your departed loved ones. You cannot think straight during the first few hours when faced with actual death in the family. Having a plan saves your sanity and would help you become more organized during those moments that you do not know what to do.
- It’s good to have 1 or 2 plans for each family.You don’t need to get a plan for each family member since memorial plans are transferable. But you also need to consider the size of your family when deciding on this.
- Make sure your loved ones know what type of service you would want for yourself.Traditional burial or cremation. I know this is an off topic sometimes but if you can’t bring yourself on telling this to them, include them in your last will and testament if you do have.
Death is a very sad but also an inevitable event that we need to accept. We all end up there; it is just a matter of time.
Planning on something that is bound to happen seems a wise thing to do.
I will leave you with this quote to think about as we remember our departed loved ones:
No matter how big your house is, how recent your car is, or how big your bank account is, our graves will always be the same size. Stay humble. – Unknown
For your Financial Needs,
Read More:
- What if I am SICK? Can I still get a Life Insurance Policy?
- Life Insurance, How much is Enough?
- Is Employer Sponsored Life Insurance Enough?
- Too old for Life Insurance and Investments? Who told you so?
- 5 Insider Tips on Finding the Right Insurance Agent/Financial Advisor For You
You need some help getting your own Life insurance, contact me here!
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yes, No matter how rich we are, we can’t buy death. only one thing we can do is plan for it .Funeral planning service will help your loved ones to cope up with the situation at that time.