Pre-Need Funeral Arrangements What is Funeral Pre-Arrangement or Pre-Need? Many folks have asked: "Exactly, what is funeral Pre-Arrangement and should I bother to make these decisions prior to the funeral?" Hetrick Funeral Home was one of the pioneers of Pre-Need during the late seventies and early eighties. We believed that individuals should have the option of early decision-making without the grief and time restraints involved during a funeral. Pre-Arrangement would allow families to make decisions about the type of funeral or cremation service that they would like to have. Frankly, we could see no drawbacks to Pre-Arrangement. We could only see the following advantages: · Peace of Mind You Give Yourself and Loved Ones. Pre-need allows you to make decisions about your funeral service so that loved ones will not be forced to make these decisions at the time of need. · Insurance Can Provide Survivors with Money But Can't Help to Make the Many Decisions at the Time of Need. · Pre-Arrangement Eliminates Family Disagreements Regarding Your Wishes. All survivors know your wishes through the Pre-Arrangement · Pre-Arrangement Protects Funds. Pre-need allows you to protect funds from Medicaid in the event of depletion of your estate by nursing home costs. · Insurance vs. Pre-Arrangement Insurance monies should be used to help the family at the time of need rather than for the payment of the funeral expenses. · Inflation Protection Funded Pre-Arrangements have inflation protection that guarantees the service you have chosen regardless of future funeral costs. · Pre-Arrangement Puts You in the Driver's Seat. Pre-Arrangement puts you in the driver's seat as the consumer. When you make arrangements prior to the time of need you have the ability to compare services and price. Pre-Arrangement also allows you to make decisions without being burdened by grief or placing the burden on others. · Last Rite Providers That Are Regulated At this time funeral homes are the only last rite providers that are regulated on the use of pre-need funds. This means that a funeral home must invest your pre-need funds in a state approved trust or insurance policy. The funds go for your funeral service and you can even change the funeral home if you would wish to do so in the future. With all of these positive factors, we concluded that Pre-Arrangement was a sound and logical concept. Over the years thousands of individuals have prearranged, gaining a peace of mind not only for themselves, but also for their loved ones. Is there a downside to Funeral/Cremation Pre-arrangement? Just like everything in life, there is a good and bad to Pre-Arrangement. Licensed Funeral Homes are regulated as to how to fund your Pre-Arrangement. Your funds must be placed in an approved funding source and reported to the State Board of Funeral Directors. The Federal Trade Commission regulates how Pre-Arrangements are conducted. Cemeteries and third party sales forces, (companies just selling caskets and vaults) however, are not regulated. Your downside is that you lose control of your funds. The other danger is high-pressure sales. At Hetrick Funeral Home, a licensed funeral director handles Pre-Arrangement. Our staff is here to inform the client and assist in the fulfillment of their wishes. This allows the client to compare our prices, services and facilities. Our staff abides by the set trade regulations, therefore, providing you the peace of mind that your monies are protected for the future. It is very reassuring to know that you are dealing with the very people that will be assisting you when a death occurs, not some sales person you will never see again. If you feel pressured into making a decision by a salesman that sold vacuum cleaners last month and funeral service this month, you are probably not making a wise decision. We have been in this community 65 years and plan to serve the community for many more.