When arranging a funeral you may find that a pre-paid plan exists.

Your loved one has given you a priceless parting gift - information about their wishes!

Any plan has probably been sold by a funeral director, who will have been paid a small referral fee, and the plan may even name a specific funeral director chosen to carry out this service. Please check the terms and conditions of the plan carefully if you intend to use an alternative funeral director.

If the plan has been bought from one of the largr national Funeral Home Groups (Co-operative or Dignity) then you will usually be required to use one of their members. 

Plans purchased from one of the providers serving the Independent Sector, such as Golden Charter, Golden Leaves, Funeral Planning Services, or Perfect Choice, allow you to choose the firm you believe is right for your family. The contract has been made with the pre-payment provider, not the funeral director, and is based on the cost of the type of service your loved one requested.

Remember that plans can be taken up decades before they are needed and so many things can change during the intervening years - funeral firms can close, be acquired by large groups, change personnel and so be very different from the service providers who sold the plan. A plan giving you the freedom to decide which funeral director will best fulfill your loved one's wishes and there will normally be no charge for changing funeral director with any of the major independent Prepaid Plan providers.

Most plans cover the cost of a relatively simple funeral and so provide a very valuable foundation for creating a funeral service that brings the comfort and confidence that come from fulfilling specific wishes. Remember that you are free to add as much detail as you wish to this outline that your loved one has given you. A good funeral director will be able to offer a  range of options to make the funeral more personal and perhaps reflect life events since the plan was first made.

If your family wishes, you can buy additional services, such as an extra limousine, more flowers, a double time-slot at the crematorium or church, musicians and anything else that you feel would help make this occasion as special as the life you are celebrating.