PRE-PLANNING A FUNERAL

The family-owned and operated Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel has been serving residents of the South Lane-North Douglas counties for nearly 100 years. Our approach to pre-planning has always been, and will continue to be a low-pressure experience. We provide families and friends of the deceased with information and a range of options that appeal to the wide spectrum of individual needs and budgets.

Since the subject of funerals is not easy to discuss, we have on staff a certified pre-planning consultant to assist those who are considering taking care of business before, rather than following, death. Pre-planning can run the gamut from simply recording general wishes to paying in advance and setting down step-by-step instructions.

Why pre-plan? Here are a few reasons:

• Pre-planning makes matters easier for those you love.
  Whether imminent or untimely, a death almost always creates a time of stress and sadness for survivors. If arrangements have already been made either by the individual or by the kin of an elderly or sickly person, then fewer decisions will need to be made by those who are grieving.

• Pre-planning allows you to control your funeral after you are gone.
  Maybe you want a simple cremation and celebration of life. Or perhaps you have a favorite song you would like played at your funeral. With pre-planning, you get to choose how elaborate and detailed, or how simple, you want your arrangements to be. By discussing plans in advance, you can take as much time as is necessary to make the best decisions about what type of ceremony you prefer.

• Pre-planning allows you to determine as well as control potential expenses of a funeral and disposition.
  Pre-paying for funeral arrangements alleviates financial strain on survivors asked to summon resources on short notice. In addition, pre-paying guarantees the price of the funeral, whether it is next year or next decade, at today's prices. If you choose to pre-pay for your funeral with Smith-Lund-Mills, your money will be placed in either a special interest-bearing funeral trust account or insurance policy written through the funeral home. Payments can be made over the course of months or years, allowing for flexibility. In addition, certain pre-payment options allow for the funds to be excluded from counting as an asset, an important consideration for those individuals applying for Medicaid assistance in paying for their care.

• Pre-planning provides an advanced opportunity to assemble life data that can help survivors who may not be as familiar as the individual with recalling relevant information.
  Some day, a great deal of vital information about you or a loved one will be needed by your family and anyone whose responsibility it is to assist them. Although some things may seem like common knowledge (for example, a mother's or grandmother's maiden name, where you attended school, your favorite hobbies), more complete and correct information can be provided to survivors if you plan ahead.

Those who plan ahead can be assured that, not only will their personal wishes be fulfilled, but also other unnecessary difficulties will be avoided for surviving family members.