Frankly speaking, there is no ideal time to get a memorial plan which would take care of the funeral expenses after your death. However, death is inevitable and it may happen to you at any point of time which can make it a reasonable choice in certain instances. If someone is terminally ill, it is better to go in with a memorial plan as it can help the person avoid draining the resources of the family due to funeral and other expenses.
Let us go a bit deep in to it. Your family would already be spending a lot of money for your treatment and healthcare. It is not good to overburden them with these responsibilities and leave them feeling drained. You need to consider leaving aside something which can take care of a few things as you leave this world. You must think of how much you can pay before you buy a memorial plan or you may end up making things even more complicated for your family.
There is no perfect age for getting a memorial plan, it would only be perfect if you have left enough money for your family and dependents to take care of the expenses incurred at your death comfortably. However, it is only in such a case where you may feel that a sudden death as in case of an accident. In case of an adventurous sports professional or a person with prolonged illness may put the family members in an uncomfortable situation where they cannot avoid the funeral expenses at any cost.
It is in such a situation your memorial plan would help take care of a few things which might otherwise leave your family feeling guilty of not doing enough about. For example, if you died after a prolonged illness and there are no enough resources to take care of a decent funeral which you rightly deserved. It would only leave them feeling like an insult to the injury they will already have received in the form of your death. This is why there is no perfect age to get a memorial plan nor.
It is as early as you are still able to afford a plan on your own and as late as you are sure of your inevitable demise in near future that you may choose to take up a memorial plan for all it is worth. One might as well think that if they have purchased a life insurance policy which can take care of the needs of the dependents after their death, it justifies not caring to buy a memorial [plan. However, since the life insurance is designed and calculated to look after the needs of your dependents, they would practically be spending out of that on your funeral.
This can affect their future financial security if you care to consider the repercussions of your decision. It would not hurt buying a policy and then again going in for a memorial plan specifically to unburden your dependents from the expenses incurred on your funeral. This would only leave your dependents feeling grateful for your sense of practical planning and responsibility. Most important of all, it would unburden your soul of any thought that you might be forcing them to stretch their resources to their limits to meet your funeral expenses.
Extreme old age may be another reason why one might consider buying a memorial plan as their family members can take care of the funeral in a proper manner in an easier way. One may also not wish to consider this if one doesn’t have any living relatives or dependents who might take care of funeral as one might wish. In such a case, one can leave a memorial plan for any friends or acquaintances to use for a respectable burial of the person.
You must inform those people about your plan so that they can take care of the responsibilities at the assigned hour. If one might have decided to remain a celibate for life for a social cause or for any other reason, it would be logical to buy a memorial plan and trust the responsibility for funeral to someone they know well enough. It would also make those who know you and who would not budge from such a responsibility, less burdened with the financial side of the affair.
Article by Dunbar Winston of FuneralesReforma, who is a specialist in hispanic estate planning. For more information on contratos funerarios Guatemala and cremacion, visit his site today.
