Your Funeral Guy: Medicaid and Funeral Expenses #2

In the previous post You can come away thinking that medicaid does not ever cover funeral cost.

This is not the case in some cases you can get funeral cost covered under public aide.

Medicaid is a program to cover medical expenses. Public aide  is a program connected to medicaid that can pay funeral expenses in some states. Please check with your state.

1st the deceased must have minimal assets

2nd the funeral home must accept  Public aide funerals.Many funeral homes do not accept public aide funerals.

3rd If a medicaid spend down has been done and your loved one is in a nursing home they most likely will qualify for a public aide funeral.

4th Different states handle these programs differently.

My main point is if you do a lower cost funeral and use some of the tips in this book you may have to pay 0 for a funeral. This is your funeral cost book.

Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral

Certainly if the public aide funeral is available to you use the funds for your lower cost funeral.

Your Funeral Guy.

All of this is from the life experience of your funeral guy.

This is your funeral book

Your Funeral Guy: Personalization, Home Funeral and lower funeral cost

Personalization, Home Funeral and lower funeral cost
Home funerals can provide more meaningful funeral experiences and this helps the families take the time they need to grieve in a familiar environment.

In the comfort of their own home, families  experience less fear of death and they are free to mourn- and handle grief in their own way. Physical involvement helps in grieving. It gives better mental health closure to the loss of a loved one. And it’s a relief to many people because they take personal action rather than sitting idly by waiting for a funeral home to handle immediate tasks. Sometimes it is better for the family to handle  final arrangements  Funeral directors will tell you personalization works and home funerals are legal and right.

Funeral choices that people make influence the future for generations to come. The economic situation is forcing folks to do the funeral the way it has done been for centuries, at home.

Lower cost Funerals and home funerals many times come in under $1,000.00USD

Your Funeral Guy:

Your Funeral Guy: Lower Cost Funeral and the Supreme Court Justice

A Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was an early pioneer of the Lower Cost Funeral

He joined the other Low Cost Funeral Pioneers: Jesica Mitford and Walt Disney!

My first encounter with the lower cost funeral occurred in 1971 while I was at my First College, Illinois State University. Nixon was dominating the New As the D.C urban legend goes he  wanted Three things. 1)Simple 2) Cheap 3) No open casket. Simple meant no frills. Cheap meant a low cost funeral No open casket meant a closed casket with no public viewing.
All I remember from 1971 was that there was a large crowd at the funeral and the burial was held at Arlington National Cemetery, and that it was a ceremony filled with emotion.

Little did I know that 30 years later on September 11, 2001 I would enter funeral service and become an advocate of the cost funeral. Hugo Black was truly founder in this cause.
Simple, Cheap, and No Open Casket works for a low cost funeral today. This still works in 2008.

Today this is something of a funeral cost  urban legend.

In 2008 I would reverse the order but leave the same instructions
1) No open Casket in 2008 this means a low cost casket sold on the internet.
2) Cheap means a low cost funeral and maybe a cremation.
3) Simple means a negotiated lower cost funeral with no funeral home scams.

So the 1971 to 2008 update means

1) INTERNET

2) CREMATION and

3) No Funeral Home Scams.

Little did I know that I was later to work at Arlington National Cemetery and write Rest in Peace Insiders Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral.

Your Funeral Guy

R.Brian Burkhardt

Funeral Director and Author

Be Sure to let me know how you lowered the cost of your funerals!

Your Funeral Guy: Funeral Expenses and The Economy

The economy is moving consumers toward lower funeral expenses and funeral costs. It is moving folks away from a traditional funeral to less than average costs of a funeral.

It is actually given consumers the courage to negotiate lower funeral expenses bringing them in much lower than the average cost of a funeral.

“While a move toward more modest funerals has been occurring for some time, funeral directors said the trend is being hastened by a lack of cash.” This according to an excellent article here:

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/325438.html

Yes  lower funeral expenses are on the way . As mentioned in earlier Blog the NFDA, National Funeral Funeral Directors Association now calls the average cost of a funeral in 2006 to be $7,323.00.

Cremation is the best option for lower funeral expenses. This true today. It costs only $20.00 to transfer cremated remains while it may cost well above a thousand dollars to transfer a casket.

Be sure to let me know how you lowered your funeral costs and expenses.

This is from the life experience of your funeral guy.

Your Funeral guy: If you do not fit in the average hole you will pay more for funeral costs:

If you do not fit in the average hole you will pay more for average funeral costs!

This comes from an excellent blogger–check the link below.

“Tall John, 6′5″, asked, ‘If tall bodies cost more, do short ones get a rebate?

Is there a surcharge for fat people? Can two thin people be interred for the price of one?

Where does it stop?!

We should all be able to rest in peace and one price fits all.”

More on this at this link:

http://lilymunsta.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/funeral-talk

Many times you can lower your funeral costs and actually come to lower funeral costs where one size fits all.

Here are five steps toward one size fits all.

1. Green Funerals make for rest in peace.

2. Home Funerals can make lower funeral costs happen.

3. Cremation brings one to lower funeral expenses.

4. Having the funeral at an alternate location other than  funeral home lowers costs.

5.Going to the funeral home and asking for a low funeral costs is a great strategy.

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If you are too tall or obese you may not fit in the casket. You may pay more for a traditional funeral.

if you investigate you will not have too pay more if you do a low cost funeral! Find out more in the Rest in peace book and funeral book.

Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral by R Brian Burkhardt and Matt Bacak.

(your) funeral guy

More funeral information can be found here:

http://www.lower cost funeral/rbrianblog

Your Funeral Guy: ehow says Prepaying Funeral Costs is good for Funeral Home- Not the Consumer

“Consumer advocates say prepaid funerals are generally a poor choice for everyone but the funeral home. And the fees (from $5,000 to $10,000) can really burn you up.” This an excellent quote from this article.

http://www.ehow.com/how_109496_pay-funeral-expenses.html

Preneed Funeral Policies have fell into dispute. Every month there is an incident where a Funeral Director runs off with the preneed money.
This year we have had the Illinois Funeral Directors 41 million dollars funeral trust mismanagement and the National Prearranged Services 500 million Dollar Theft.
The AARP Magazine had an article in February 2008 advising folks not to prepay a Funeral. I believe that this has taken hold.

Saving money on funeral costs is becoming more popular in the current economic environment.

Be sure to let me know how you saved on funeral costs and funeral expenses.
R. Brian Burkhardt, Your Funeral Guy, Author “Rest in Peace Insider Tips To the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral “.
Funeral Director, State of Illinois, Virginia.

Your Funeral Guy: Lower Cost Funeral Blog Featured at Funeral Wire.com

This funeral cost blog has been featured in funeral wire.com This is a website for funeral directors and people seeking information on funerals.

here is the link:

http://www.funeralwire.com/external_news.php?linkId=2199

The main point of the blog post mentioned here is that the NFDA- national funeral directors has issued a rise in the average cost of a funeral for 2006 to….

$7,323

Here is the full blog post.

http://yourfuneralguy.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/your-funeral-guy-nfda-no-lower-cost-funeral/

Your Funeral Guy, R Brian Burkhardt, Funeral Director, Author, Blogger, State of Illinois

Be sure to watch for a future blog that shows how funeral cost is going up and down at the same time as we move into 2009.

Your Funeral Guy: The highest funeral cost is the death of the persons involved

Highest funeral cost is the death of the persons involved. No matter how much you pay for the funeral the highest cost is the ending of life. There is no price on that.

“This one gave me the shakes, all i knew was the wife ran off another man and the guy lost it.I was elected to measure the three bodies for casket. The fourth body was not given a casket, the father.”

Your Funeral Guy’s First Funeral Horror Storie

This is my never forget event. I thought I had prepared myself for everything I would see as a Funeral Director.The Husband had lost it and killed the three boys at His Home. Yes he had taken a gun and shot the three children 3 kids under 14.

This one gave me the shakes, all i knew was the wife ran off another man and the guy lost it.I was elected to measure the three bodies for casket. The fourth body was not given a casket, the father.

The boys were obviously vibrant. Even after shooting(suicide) himself the Father Looked Stressed.I lost it for about 2 minutes…How do i deal with this?

After 2 minutes I took a deep breath.

I completed the mortuary task.The father was given a cremation with no ceremony. This cost very little.. The three boys were given a lower cost dignified funeral. There is no human explanation for what had happened.

All I remember praying was that all four Rest in Peace.

More stories may be found in Rest in Peace Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral by R Brian Burkhardt

Your Funeral Guy Funeral Director, Illinois and Virginia

Your Funeral Guy: IFDA Funeral cost Trust Fund more secure?

According to the President of the IFDA Illinois Funeral Directors Association —we should feel secure that the IFDA Preneed Trust is in the hands of Merrill Lynch

This was e-mailed to me by the IFDA:

“Trust Update from President Bosma

I want to share with all IFDA members updated information on the IFDA Preneed Trust.

This week, IFDA completed a five-month process and transferred the assets of the IFDA Preneed Trust to Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust Co. (MLTC). The action was taken per the Order of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).

This Order from state regulators directed the immediate transfer of all IFDA Preneed accounts to MLTC – the new trustee of the IFDA Preneed Trust. This action was completed on November 3, 2008.

Although MLTC is the new Trustee, trust participants will still contact IFDA for administrative services.

A brief overview: MLTC is now the trustee for the IFDA Preneed Trust and it is separated into three separate common trust funds to ensure that investments for each fund are not dependent in any way on any of the other funds.

1. A separate Trust fund for existing deposits in taxable accounts; and
2. A separate Trust fund for existing deposits in tax-exempt accounts; and
3. A separate Trust fund for all new deposits.

We will keep you updated as new information is made available.”

Your Funeral Guy states that it is not time to feel secure especially with Merrill Lynch, MLTC. A US News and world report article states that Merrill Lynch has been there for every financial disaster going back to the 1980″s. No wonder they took on the IFDA Preneed Trust debacle!

Here is a quote from the article.

“OK then! Lastly, and more recently, 24/7 Wall Street’s Douglas A. McIntyre calls out Merrill CEO John Thain for comparing the current crisis to the early days of the Great Depression”

Clearly the Merrill Lynch Executive does not have a positive outlook.

Here is the full  Web Nov.12th article:

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-ticker/2008/11/11/everybody-hates-merrill-lynch-this-week.html

Clearly the IFDA( Illinois Funeral Director Association) does not contribute to a Lower Cost Funeral.

Your funeral guy.

IFDA information E-mailed to me by the IFDA.

Your Funeral Guy: Five Reasons For a funeral Industry and cost Tsunami Like Wall Street.

Will there be a funeral cost credit crunch like Wall street? Here are five warning signs.

1. Every month we hear of the funeral  homes either taking money or breaking the law. Here is one of the latest:

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Nov03/0,4670,FuneralHomeInvestigation,00.html

2. In  the UK bodies are piling up do to the credit crunch.  The article on this pile up of dead bodies is referenced here:

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmsIReYtM60fZi_y5jdOCkZpIk6Q

Quoting from this article: “This distressing aspect of the credit crunch shows that the hurricanes blowing down Wall Street have the power to affect us all in unexpected ways,” the newspaper wrote.

“The sad story of the unburied dead should alert us to the much worse things that lie ahead if we do not pull out of this dive.”

3. The funeral industry is rocked  with scandal. Specifically the preneed scandals of this year.

The IFDA Preneed Trust deficit and Scandal is witnessed here.

a-http://yourfuneralguy.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/your-funeral-guy-ifda-preneed-trust-40-million-deficit-funeral-cost-scandal-fades-with-fannie-and-freddie-takeover/

b-http://www.progressiveu.org/075616-key-month-funeral-cost

This was a 41 million dollar loss but is nothing compared  to  the 500 million dollar loss of NPS.

4. NPS or National Prearranged Services shut down and had a 500 million Loss-theft.

http://ifda.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/ifda-will-the-ifda-have-a-low-cost-funeral-like-nps/

This caused more expense for many funeral homes which also pass the cost on to the folks, and more lack of trust for preneed and the funeral industry.

5.    According to  Fox News Broadcasts on November 7^th and November 8^th 2008 it was reported that credit card companies  at the Direction of the Federal Reserve are to put higher standards in place for credit even lowering the limits for and raising interest rates for people with good credit.

Most likely it will go the way of Great Britain for the funeral industry as well.

How will this affect  funeral cost in America? Folks simply will not have the money to pay for the Family Funeral. Honest funeral directors will tell you that the lion’s share of their people pay for the funeral on a credit card.

Will there be a Funeral Cost Credit Tsunami? Your Funeral  Guy says yes.

Will there be a bailout for the Funeral Industry. Probably it will happen.

But not just for the five warning signs mentioned above. The FTC, the United States Treasury, and The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) all have policies in place to make it happen. Yes before advocating a lower cost funeral a government bailout may occur. This will be covered in a later blog post.

Your Funeral Guy