Medicare exempts pre-paid funeral plans from the money the federal government can grab. If nothing else that ought to make them attractive to the public.
Indiana law has two kinds of pre-paid funeral
trusts. One funded by cash and the other by an insurance policy.
Indiana has three statutes relating to funeral trusts: Prepaid Funeral Plans and Funeral Trust Funds Established Before 1982 (IC 30-2-9), Funeral Trust Funds, Payment of Funeral (IC 30-2-10), and Burial Services, or Merchandise in Advance of Need (IC 30-2-13). I will be discussing all of them in other posts.
I think (but have no evidence to back me up here) most people are using
insurance policies to fund the funeral trust. For an example of a
pre-arrangement program see MASTERCHOICE® FUNERAL TRUST.
Setting
up a pre-paid funeral trust means going to the funeral home and
selecting the sort of funeral you want. Before going to the funeral
home, you should read the Federal Trade Commission's Funerals: A Consumer Guide.
The FTC's Funeral Home Rule requires a funeral home to display a price
list that includes all goods and services the funeral home will provide
to the buyer. The funeral trust funds whatever the buyer selects.
