Today, many people are choosing to make funeral arrangements for themselves or a relative or friend prior to death, in conjunction with a funeral director. While not a requirement, most prearranged funerals are also prepaid. Doing so means the family will not have to make important decisions or secure funds in a time of extreme stress - and that the funeral reflects the wishes of the deceased.

What are the Benefits of Preplanning?

There are three major Benefits to planning your arrangements in advance.

1. Planning ensures that all of your final wishes will be fulfilled. Because death is a difficult subject to discuss, often times your true wishes may not be known or fully understood by your family.
2. Preplanning can eliminate the financial burden that a funeral might pose on your survivors. And by prepaying, your funeral will cost less now than it would in the future
3. Preplanning provides you and your family with the peace-of-mind in knowing that everything has been "taken care of" in the manner you specified. It's the best gift you can leave your loved ones.

How Prefunding Works?

In New Jersey there are three ways to prepay or prefund a funeral:

1. Establish a prepaid funeral trust fund account. This can be done using the New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund.^TM
2. Assign existing life insurance policy or policies to the funeral home. This can be done through Sure Trust. ^TM
3. Purchase funeral insurance or an annunity. (The NJSFDA has no programs that use this option.)

You can prepay a funeral using all of the above ways or any combination of them. We have provided an online form to help you begin the pre-planning process, now.

New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund

Our funeral home offers prefunding through the New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund.^TM

Only funeral directors who are members in good standing of New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association may open a New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund.^TM account for you.

1. You can meet with one of our funeral directors, select the funeral goods and service you desire, and complete trust fund paperwork
2. We will then forward the completed paperwork, along with your check to the Trust Fund.
3. We will then forward the completed paperwork, along with your check to the Trust Fund.
4. The check is immediately deposited and an acknowledgement of receipt is forwarded to you the following business day. If you do not receive an acknowledgement of receipt is forwarded to you the following business day. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within two weeks, contact Funeral Planing CHOICES ^TM (in NJ: 1-800-286-3628; outside NJ: 1-800-732-449-4003).
5. By January 31 of each year, the Trust Fund will send you an annual summary statement of your account's principal and interest earned, together with the Internal Revenue Service-reqired Grantor Letter for tax reporting.

The interest received by the Trust Fund will vary with money market rates, and the Trustees will only place those funds into FDIC insured bank deposits.

An advantage of using the New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund.^TM is that it is immediately available upon death for payment of funeral expenses. Unlike traditional savings accounts which may close or become inaccessible at the time of death, this account becomes payable.

Other Benefits

Opening a New Jersey Prepaid Funeral Trust Fund.^TM account offers these important benefits:

• monies are totally revocable (refundable). However, to qualify for SSI, Medicaid, or General Assistance you may require and irrevocable account.
• it grows from the day of deposit and is FDIC insured
• its rates are competitive and its payment options flexible
• there is NO age limit and NO health question are asked

Online Preplanning Form

Information about person completing the form:
I am Planning for:	Choose One Myself Spouse Life Partner Mother Father Child Friend Other Relative
Last Name:
First Name:
Middle Name:
E-mail:
Street Address:
City:
County:
State:	Select State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico Virgin Island Northern Mariana Islands Guam American Samoa Palau
Zip Code:
Phone:

Vital Information about the person you are planning for:
Last Name:
First Name:
Middle Name:
Sex:	Choose One Female Male
Marital Status:	Choose One Never Married Married Divorced Widow Widower
Social Security#:
Date of Birth:	Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31(ex. 1999)
Place Of Birth:
Spouse's Full Name:
Spouse's Maiden Name:
Place of Marriage:
Date of Marriage:	Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31(ex. 1999)
Father's Full Name:
Mother's Name:
Mother's Maiden Name:

Work and Education:
Education:	Primary 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 College 0 1 2 3 4 5+
Usual Occupation: (most of life)
Kind of Business:
Company (Optional):

Military Records:
Branch of Service:	Choose One Army Navy Air Force Marines Coast Gaurd Other
Serial Number:
Date Enlisted:
Rank At Discharge:
Date Discharged:
Discharge On File At:
Copy of Discharge Papers:   YES    NO
Name Of  Wars:

Funeral Service Information:
Place Of Service:	Choose One Funeral Home Church Cemetery
Name of Funeral Home:
Address:
Phone:
Place of Visitation:
I Prefer The Funeral Service To Be:	Choose One Public Private
Viewing For Family:	Yes No
Viewing For Friends:	Yes No
Religious Denomination:
Place Of Worship:
Lodge / Union:

Person(s) To Finalize Arrangements At Time Of Death:
Check here and skip this section if is information is the same as person filling out this form
Full Name:
Street Address:
City:
County:
State:	Select State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico Virgin Island Northern Mariana Islands Guam American Samoa Palau
Zip Code:
Phone:

Special Instructions:
Flower Preference:
Music
Casket Bearers (6):
Jewelry:
Glasses:
Clothing:
Other:

Disposition Options:
I Prefer:	Earth Burial Mausoleum Cremation
Cemetery:
Address:
Phone:
Section:
I have made a last will and testament:   YES    NO

Other Information & Special Instructions

Please list any other instruction or information you would like us to have:

Memorials & Charities

Please list any Memorials or Donations to Charity that you would like:

Options

Please select one of the options below: Send information about pre-arrangement Contact me to set an appointment Please keep my information on file