To preplan a funeral, you decide what you want (burial or cremation, the type of service, the funeral home and the budget), write those wishes down, and share them with the people who will carry them out. You can stop there, or you can also sign a preneed contract and pay in advance. Prearranging and prepaying are two separate decisions, and many people do the first without the second.
Planning ahead spares your family from making a long list of decisions in the first days after a death, when they are grieving and short on time. It also gives you a chance to compare prices calmly, which is much harder to do under pressure.
Prearranging vs prepaying
| Prearranging only | Prearranging and prepaying | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Record your wishes and, if you like, meet a funeral home to price them | Sign a preneed contract and pay in full or in installments |
| Cost today | Nothing, or the cost of a will or document | The contract price, sometimes with interest on installments |
| Flexibility | Complete: your family can choose any provider | Depends on the contract and your state's law |
| Main risk | Family may need to find the money quickly | Contract terms, cancellation limits, or a provider that closes or changes hands |
If your goal is mainly to spare your family decisions, prearranging may be all you need. If your goal is also to set money aside, you have several ways to do that, and a preneed contract is only one of them.
Step 1: Decide what you want
Start with the big choices, then fill in the details. A simple worksheet might cover:
- Disposition: burial, cremation, entombment, natural burial or donation to science. See burial vs cremation and green funeral options.
- Service: a funeral with the body present, a memorial service without it, a graveside service only, or no service.
- Gatherings: whether you want a viewing, visitation or wake. See viewing vs visitation vs wake.
- Place: a funeral home chapel, a house of worship, a cemetery or another venue.
- Religious or cultural requirements: clergy, rituals, timing or preparation of the body. See religious funeral customs.
- Cemetery details: whether you already own a plot or niche, and where the deed is.
- Personal touches: music, readings, speakers, clothing, photos, charities for donations in lieu of flowers.
- Veterans benefits: if you served, where your discharge papers (DD214) are kept. See veterans burial benefits.
- Obituary notes: facts you want included. See how to write an obituary.
Step 2: Get prices from more than one funeral home
Under the FTC Funeral Rule, a funeral home must give you a written General Price List when you ask in person about arrangements, and must give prices over the phone if you call. That applies to preplanning visits too. Comparing two or three lists is the most effective way to understand local costs. See what is a general price list and the FTC Funeral Rule: your rights.
For context, the National Funeral Directors Association's 2023 General Price List Study put the national median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300, and a funeral with viewing and cremation at $6,280. Those medians do not include cemetery charges such as the plot or a headstone. Prices in your area can be quite different, which is why local quotes matter. See how much does a funeral cost for a fuller breakdown.
You can find providers that offer preplanning consultations in our funeral homes with pre-planning directory, or start from your state or near me.
Step 3: Decide how, or whether, to set money aside
Common options include:
- Payable-on-death (POD) account. A bank savings account or certificate of deposit with a named beneficiary. The money stays yours, can be used for anything, and passes to the beneficiary outside probate. You can leave a note saying it is meant for funeral costs.
- Life insurance. An existing policy can cover funeral costs. Some people buy a small final expense policy. Read the terms carefully, including any waiting period.
- Preneed contract with a funeral home. You select goods and services and pay in advance. Depending on your state, the money is typically placed in a trust or used to buy an insurance policy or annuity that pays the funeral home at the time of death.
Step 4: If you sign a preneed contract, read it closely
Preneed sales are regulated mainly by state law, and protections vary a great deal from state to state. The federal Funeral Rule still applies to the pricing information you receive. Before you sign, ask:
- Is the price guaranteed? A guaranteed contract locks the price of the listed goods and services. A non-guaranteed contract applies your money toward whatever the prices are at the time of death, and your family may owe more.
- What exactly is covered? Look for items the contract excludes, such as cemetery charges, death certificates, obituary fees, clergy honoraria and flowers. These are often called cash advance items.
- How is the money held? Ask whether it goes into a trust or an insurance product, what share of your payment is protected, and who receives any interest.
- Can I cancel? Ask whether you get a refund and how much, and whether that changes after a certain period.
- Can I transfer the plan? If you move or want a different funeral home, can the contract or the funds be transferred, and at what cost?
- What if the funeral home closes or is sold? Ask how your money is protected and who would honor the contract.
- Is it revocable or irrevocable? Some people make a contract irrevocable for Medicaid planning reasons, which limits cancellation. Get advice if this applies to you.
The FTC's consumer guide Shopping for Funeral Services covers prepaying and is worth reading before you commit. Your state's funeral board or insurance department can tell you which rules apply where you live.
Step 5: Put it in writing and tell people
A plan only helps if someone can find it in time. Funerals often happen within days, and a will may not be read until later.
- Keep a written summary of your wishes with copies of any contracts, receipts, plot deeds and insurance policies.
- Give a copy to the person most likely to handle arrangements and to the funeral home you chose.
- Tell family members where the documents are kept, and avoid storing the only copy in a safe deposit box that may be hard to open after death.
- In many states you can name a designated agent for disposition, which gives a specific person legal authority to make funeral decisions. Ask an attorney or your state's health department about the form.
- Review the plan every few years, or after a move, a marriage or the death of a spouse.
Talking to your family
Some families find this conversation hard to begin. It can help to frame it practically: you want to make things easier for them, and you want them to know your wishes so they do not have to guess. Be clear about which details matter to you and which ones they can decide. Leaving room for their choices often makes the service more meaningful for those who attend.