BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- After the recent death of his mother, James B. from Santa Barbara, Calif., had a sit-down talk with his father, covering family finances.
"My father doesn't need to change anything, he's set up for life," James said in an email, "but not changing anything means he wants to leave everything exactly as he had it with Mom. He says that his will sorts everything out, but I'm afraid we're missing something here."
What James' father is missing is a named beneficiary on his individual retirement account; his wife was the beneficiary, but her death and the absence of a contingent beneficiary means that the money will go the estate. While the will eventually will sort things out, the error could turn into a major headache.
The good news is that, unlike a poor investment, the situation is easily resolved and changed, with no potential negative consequences.
"It's not what you invest in, it's how much you keep after taxes," says Ed Slott of E. Slott & Co. in Rockville Centre, N.Y. "You spend a lifetime trying to build up an investment, and you know that one of the best ways to build wealth is to keep your money away from the government for as long as possible, so why do you then turn around and have the government get it as quickly as possible when you are gone."
Naming a beneficiary for an IRA is not the same as naming the heirs in your will. In fact, establishing the beneficiary designation is like having a special will to direct your IRA assets. That's much more important than most people recognize.
There are two key issues that come into play when an IRA passes to the estate rather than to a named beneficiary.
The first is that the IRA normally would go to the beneficiary without going through probate, the judicial process where a will is presented to the court for disposition. The probate process significantly slows the flow of the money. Even if the cash eventually gets where it is going -- assuming no creditor or other claimants to the estate successfully contest the will -- it won't get there for months, at a minimum.
The bigger issue involves what the recipients of the money can do with it.
Stretching benefits
The beneficiaries of an IRA -- so long as it is a named person or certain types of trusts -- can extend the tax benefits of the account, so that withdrawals are based on their own life expectancy. This creates what many in the industry call a "stretch IRA," where the benefits of IRA ownership can be extended by decades.
But if the money goes into an estate, even if it is destined to wind up with the same individual as a result of instructions in the will, the whole account must be distributed in short order. If the account owner died before turning 70 1/2, the whole account must be distributed by the end of the fifth year after death; if the owner died after that age, the IRA can be paid out through what would have been the owner's life expectancy, which could be more than five years but which will not be the same time frame as a member of the next generation.
"Paying it to your estate is kind of giving up, it's like saying 'The tax savings aren't worth it, so what the hell,'" says Stephen Ziobrowski, a partner in Day, Berry & Howard in Boston. "I haven't encountered a situation where paying an IRA to the estate is the right thing to do. I know it exists theoretically, but I haven't seen one case where it was the right thing to do."
Leaving an IRA to the estate is supposed to make sense in situations where account owners have no heirs and the money is earmarked for charity or where account owners have so many heirs -- or so little money -- that dividing the assets or tagging them for specific recipients creates a significant hassle.
For the average consumer, however, there's no question that naming a beneficiary is the right way to go.
Beyond setting it up, keeping it up to date is crucial. In the case of James' father, for example, having the mother as beneficiary was acceptable until her death; the lack of a secondary beneficiary became a problem upon her death.
Update forms
When investors open an IRA, they sign a custodial agreement with the firm they're investing with; in most cases, those agreements typically say that someone who dies without a beneficiary leaves the money to the estate. In some cases -- where the management firm has become proactive on the part of its customers -- the agreement says that in the absence of a named beneficiary, the money goes to a spouse, then to surviving children, before the estate could actually become beneficiary.
If you haven't read the custodial document to know the default case, check the beneficiary paperwork.
Phil Holthouse of Holthouse, Carlin & Van Trigt, an accounting firm in Long Beach, Calif., says that many people simply fail to pay attention to beneficiary forms.
"It's easy to fix, so long as you are alive and haven't lost competency," Holthouse says. "Call the company you have the IRA with and get new forms, and then fill them out. You can keep the beneficiary and contingent beneficiary up to date in about five minutes. ... If you don't, your heirs will face the cost of probate, they will lose flexibility on how to take money out of the IRA, and they suffer the practical damage of not being able to easily do what you actually wanted for that money."
Showing posts with label Estate Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Estate Planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Dividing possessions
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Dividing up a beloved parent's possessions can bring up strong feelings even in the most-well-adjusted families. To avoid unnecessary friction, Jane Bennett Clark, associate editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, suggests the following five steps when deciding who gets what:
Agree on a strategy. Before anyone starts cherry-picking, family members should decide on a mutually agreeable strategy for divvying everything up. One method: group items according to their financial or sentimental value and then have everyone take turns choosing what they want.
Articulate your reasons. If more than one person has their heart set on a particular heirloom, ask them to write down why they feel they should get the item. Then, sit down and compare reasons. The keepsake should go to the person who offers up the most compelling or logical explanation.
Limit the number of people. Try to limit decision makers to people in the immediate family and don't include spouses or grandchildren unless absolutely necessary. The more family members involved in the process of choosing, the more complications are likely to arise.
Find out what it's worth. To ensure that no one gets short shrift, enlist the help of an appraiser to figure out exactly what things are worth, counsels Clark. After everything has been dispersed, tally up the value of the items chosen by each family member. If one person's take is worth significantly more than the rest, you may want to consider letting other family members take matching funds out of the estate. (To find an appraiser in your area, visit the American Society of Appraisers at www.appraisers.org.)
Commit to a peaceful resolution. If tensions bubble up during the decision-making process, try not to let your feelings run away with you. Remember: in the long run, getting what you want is less important the supporting one another during this difficult time.
Agree on a strategy. Before anyone starts cherry-picking, family members should decide on a mutually agreeable strategy for divvying everything up. One method: group items according to their financial or sentimental value and then have everyone take turns choosing what they want.
Articulate your reasons. If more than one person has their heart set on a particular heirloom, ask them to write down why they feel they should get the item. Then, sit down and compare reasons. The keepsake should go to the person who offers up the most compelling or logical explanation.
Limit the number of people. Try to limit decision makers to people in the immediate family and don't include spouses or grandchildren unless absolutely necessary. The more family members involved in the process of choosing, the more complications are likely to arise.
Find out what it's worth. To ensure that no one gets short shrift, enlist the help of an appraiser to figure out exactly what things are worth, counsels Clark. After everything has been dispersed, tally up the value of the items chosen by each family member. If one person's take is worth significantly more than the rest, you may want to consider letting other family members take matching funds out of the estate. (To find an appraiser in your area, visit the American Society of Appraisers at www.appraisers.org.)
Commit to a peaceful resolution. If tensions bubble up during the decision-making process, try not to let your feelings run away with you. Remember: in the long run, getting what you want is less important the supporting one another during this difficult time.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
New Medicaid Planning Rules
The Crackdown on Medicaid PlanningNew government rules require creative strategies to protect your assets.By Mary Beth Franklin From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, November 2007
Warning: Stricter Medicaid rules may derail your strategies for protecting your family's wealth. That's because Congress has stiffened the penalties for giving away money so that your parents are able to qualify for government-paid nursing-home care.
Opportunity: Take time now to review estate plans for both you and your parents. With proper preparation, you can ensure your plans are still effective despite longer waiting periods before Medicaid will pay for long-term care.
The back story: Medicaid, which is jointly funded by federal and state governments, is intended to provide health care for the poor. But it has also become the major source of financing for long-term care, paying nearly half of all nursing-home bills after residents run out of money. Most states require nursing-home residents to spend virtually all of their assets -- down to as little as $2,000 -- before they may qualify. Married couples have higher asset allowances as long as one spouse is healthy enough to remain at home.
A year in a nursing home costs about $75,000 nationwide (substantially more in the Northeast and California), so it's easy to wipe out a lifetime of savings. You can sidestep the Medicaid issue by buying long-term-care insurance if you or your parents are healthy enough to qualify for coverage and can afford the premiums. A policy that provides coverage for five years of care at $143 per day with inflation protection costs about $2,000 a year or more, depending on your age.
For some individuals, long-term-care insurance may not be an option. And some people give away their money and property in order to qualify for Medicaid help sooner, a practice known as Medicaid planning. One way to deal with both situations is to earmark funds sufficient to pay for care, then establish an irrevocable trust to remove remaining assets from the estate, says Barbara Culver, president of Resonate, a wealth advisory service in Cincinnati. But Medicaid planning, always a touchy subject, has become even dicier since Congress enacted new rules to crack down on such tactics.
Tougher restrictions. The government doesn't want to finance long-term care for people who are sheltering assets that could go toward paying their bills. So the new rules, which took effect in February 2006, extend the "look back" period from three years to five. If an individual gives away money or property during the five-year look-back, it triggers a penalty period during which he or she is ineligible for government aid.
The penalty period equals the amount given away divided by the average cost of nursing-home care in your area. So, for example, if you give $60,000 to family members and a nursing home costs $6,000 a month where you live, you can't qualify for Medicaid for ten months.
Under the old rules, the penalty period was less onerous because it began the day you transferred the assets. That meant it often expired before you were admitted to a nursing home, so you could still qualify for government aid when you applied.
Now, however, the penalty period begins the day you apply for Medicaid, which by definition means you have already spent virtually all of your money and need public assistance to pay the bills. (Asset transfers made before February 8, 2006, are grandfathered under the old rules.) That means the family members who receive your gifts may have to pay nursing-home bills during the penalty period until you qualify for Medicaid.
Creative solutions. Since the new rules took effect, Jennifer Cona, an elder-law lawyer in Melville, N.Y., says she has seen a stream of clients who are "kicking themselves because they didn't plan earlier." Says Cona, "We've had to become more creative."
Cona is setting up irrevocable trusts so that clients can shelter their assets and continue to live in their homes or receive income (but not principal) from the trust. Under the old Medicaid rules, trusts were subject to a five-year look-back period, compared with three years for other asset transfers. Now that the five-year look-back period applies across the board, the added protection of a trust is more appealing.
If the client needs long-term care before the five-year look-back ends, Cona explains, beneficiaries of the trust may take an advance on their inheritance or sell the house to raise cash. If the client doesn't need care until after the five-year window closes, the trust assets are protected and the client is eligible for Medicaid as soon as remaining unprotected assets are spent.
For those who need immediate care, Cona sometimes drafts a "caregiver agreement," under which a parent agrees to pay an adult child for caregiving services, such as driving to medical appointments, helping with household chores and coordinating or providing care. The payments help draw down the parent's assets closer to the point of Medicaid eligibility while passing cash on to a family member, who may have to take leave from his or her job to become a caregiver. Because the payments are considered wages rather than gifts, they avoid the restrictions on asset transfers. Such wages must reflect current rates for local home-health-care aides (the average wage is about $19 an hour nationwide), and the recipient must pay taxes on the income.
Don't jump in. Even though many adult children are willing (even eager) to help their parents deal with long-term-care bills, it's often better to wait, recommends James Ryan, of Lenox Advisors, in New York City. If you intervene too soon, all of your financial gifts will be considered your parent's assets and will go toward paying nursing-home bills.
And don't let your parent take out a home-equity loan to pay long-term-care bills, says Ryan. Up to $500,000 of home equity ($750,000 in New York and some other states) is excluded from assets used to calculate Medicaid eligibility. Once your parent qualifies for Medicaid, he says, you can be as generous as you like with gifts and cash.
Remember, though, that Medicaid is not an ideal solution even if you can protect some assets. "Medicaid comes up short in protecting your freedom of choice," says Ryan. You or your parent would probably have to go into a nursing home to receive government-financed care, rather than remain at home, which most people prefer. As a result of the tougher Medicaid rules, Ryan says, more people are interested in buying long-term-care insurance.
Warning: Stricter Medicaid rules may derail your strategies for protecting your family's wealth. That's because Congress has stiffened the penalties for giving away money so that your parents are able to qualify for government-paid nursing-home care.
Opportunity: Take time now to review estate plans for both you and your parents. With proper preparation, you can ensure your plans are still effective despite longer waiting periods before Medicaid will pay for long-term care.
The back story: Medicaid, which is jointly funded by federal and state governments, is intended to provide health care for the poor. But it has also become the major source of financing for long-term care, paying nearly half of all nursing-home bills after residents run out of money. Most states require nursing-home residents to spend virtually all of their assets -- down to as little as $2,000 -- before they may qualify. Married couples have higher asset allowances as long as one spouse is healthy enough to remain at home.
A year in a nursing home costs about $75,000 nationwide (substantially more in the Northeast and California), so it's easy to wipe out a lifetime of savings. You can sidestep the Medicaid issue by buying long-term-care insurance if you or your parents are healthy enough to qualify for coverage and can afford the premiums. A policy that provides coverage for five years of care at $143 per day with inflation protection costs about $2,000 a year or more, depending on your age.
For some individuals, long-term-care insurance may not be an option. And some people give away their money and property in order to qualify for Medicaid help sooner, a practice known as Medicaid planning. One way to deal with both situations is to earmark funds sufficient to pay for care, then establish an irrevocable trust to remove remaining assets from the estate, says Barbara Culver, president of Resonate, a wealth advisory service in Cincinnati. But Medicaid planning, always a touchy subject, has become even dicier since Congress enacted new rules to crack down on such tactics.
Tougher restrictions. The government doesn't want to finance long-term care for people who are sheltering assets that could go toward paying their bills. So the new rules, which took effect in February 2006, extend the "look back" period from three years to five. If an individual gives away money or property during the five-year look-back, it triggers a penalty period during which he or she is ineligible for government aid.
The penalty period equals the amount given away divided by the average cost of nursing-home care in your area. So, for example, if you give $60,000 to family members and a nursing home costs $6,000 a month where you live, you can't qualify for Medicaid for ten months.
Under the old rules, the penalty period was less onerous because it began the day you transferred the assets. That meant it often expired before you were admitted to a nursing home, so you could still qualify for government aid when you applied.
Now, however, the penalty period begins the day you apply for Medicaid, which by definition means you have already spent virtually all of your money and need public assistance to pay the bills. (Asset transfers made before February 8, 2006, are grandfathered under the old rules.) That means the family members who receive your gifts may have to pay nursing-home bills during the penalty period until you qualify for Medicaid.
Creative solutions. Since the new rules took effect, Jennifer Cona, an elder-law lawyer in Melville, N.Y., says she has seen a stream of clients who are "kicking themselves because they didn't plan earlier." Says Cona, "We've had to become more creative."
Cona is setting up irrevocable trusts so that clients can shelter their assets and continue to live in their homes or receive income (but not principal) from the trust. Under the old Medicaid rules, trusts were subject to a five-year look-back period, compared with three years for other asset transfers. Now that the five-year look-back period applies across the board, the added protection of a trust is more appealing.
If the client needs long-term care before the five-year look-back ends, Cona explains, beneficiaries of the trust may take an advance on their inheritance or sell the house to raise cash. If the client doesn't need care until after the five-year window closes, the trust assets are protected and the client is eligible for Medicaid as soon as remaining unprotected assets are spent.
For those who need immediate care, Cona sometimes drafts a "caregiver agreement," under which a parent agrees to pay an adult child for caregiving services, such as driving to medical appointments, helping with household chores and coordinating or providing care. The payments help draw down the parent's assets closer to the point of Medicaid eligibility while passing cash on to a family member, who may have to take leave from his or her job to become a caregiver. Because the payments are considered wages rather than gifts, they avoid the restrictions on asset transfers. Such wages must reflect current rates for local home-health-care aides (the average wage is about $19 an hour nationwide), and the recipient must pay taxes on the income.
Don't jump in. Even though many adult children are willing (even eager) to help their parents deal with long-term-care bills, it's often better to wait, recommends James Ryan, of Lenox Advisors, in New York City. If you intervene too soon, all of your financial gifts will be considered your parent's assets and will go toward paying nursing-home bills.
And don't let your parent take out a home-equity loan to pay long-term-care bills, says Ryan. Up to $500,000 of home equity ($750,000 in New York and some other states) is excluded from assets used to calculate Medicaid eligibility. Once your parent qualifies for Medicaid, he says, you can be as generous as you like with gifts and cash.
Remember, though, that Medicaid is not an ideal solution even if you can protect some assets. "Medicaid comes up short in protecting your freedom of choice," says Ryan. You or your parent would probably have to go into a nursing home to receive government-financed care, rather than remain at home, which most people prefer. As a result of the tougher Medicaid rules, Ryan says, more people are interested in buying long-term-care insurance.
5-minute estate planning guide
Use these 23 tips to help carry out your wishes, whether you're rich or just hanging on.
By MSN Money staff
Even though most estates won't owe Uncle Sam, estate planning is essential for protecting you and your loved ones.
Most important? Providing for minor children. Your will should name both a guardian and a financial trustee for your kids in case you and your spouse die. (See "14 mistakes not to make with your will.")
To provide checks and balances, the guardian and the trustee should not be the same person.
Don't name a couple as guardian. They could split up or disagree about what's right for your child. (See "Who will take care of your kids if you die?")
Your child's other parent, even if you're divorced, will get custody if you die, unless that person is unfit because of mental illness or addiction.
Your willWhat else should -- and shouldn't -- be in a will? If you don't designate beneficiaries, the state will decide how to split up your estate, which can be time-consuming.
A simultaneous death clause will pass your estate to your children if your spouse dies shortly after you do.
Many states require that a third or half of your estate goes to your spouse, even if your will specifies a smaller share.
If you want children from a prior marriage to benefit from your estate, don't leave everything to your current spouse. A bypass trust provides regular income for a surviving spouse until death. Then the assets go to the children.
If you want to disinherit a child, spell that out in the will.
Avoid tying bequests to an heir's behavior. (See "6 tips to ensure your last wishes.") A testamentary trust or spendthrift trust in the will can control how money is distributed so an irresponsible heir can't blow it all at once.
Keep current the designated beneficiaries on retirement and life insurance accounts so those assets don't become a part of your will. A 401(k) automatically passes to the surviving spouse unless that spouse has signed a waiver.
Consider simplifying your will by giving away assets before you die, holding them in joint tenancy or transferring ownership to a trust. You can gift as much as $12,000 annually to as many people as you want, and you can pay someone's education and medical expenses directly to the providing institution, without triggering federal gift tax. See IRS Publication 950 (.pdf file).
Review your will -- and life insurance -- after major life changes. (See "Remarriage means revising your estate plans.") If you remarry, consider a prenuptial agreement. (See "Late-in-life marriages worry heirs.") If you move, remember that estate laws vary from state to state.
Name an executor and a backup. (See "12 easy steps to preparing your estate plan.")
Fulfilling your final wishesAn executor is responsible for valuing assets, paying off debts and taxes, and distributing what's left in accordance with the will. (See "Executors can inherit an unholy mess.")
File the will for probate, which is a court review of the will, in a timely fashion, usually 30 days. (State laws vary on the timing, as well as the size of estate subject to probate.)
Search the decedent's home thoroughly. Important documents and valuables could be hidden in dresser drawers or old shoes. Hopefully, financial records, including computer passwords and PINs, are in one secure location. If they're in a safety-deposit box, you may need a court order to open it. (See "Don't take your passwords to the grave.")
Change the name on the homeowners insurance policy to the estate. (See "Clearing out Dad's house.") Pay the mortgage and utility bills, and change the locks.
Prepare the house for sale. The costs of improvements can offset taxable gains from the sale.
Get a receipt for donated items. Use the Salvation Army's valuation guide. The American Society of Appraisers accredits professional personal-property appraisers.
TaxesNow, more about taxes. In 2007 and 2008, only the portion of an estate over $2 million is subject to federal estate tax. The threshold rises to $3.5 million in 2009 before the tax disappears in 2010. It will return in 2011 with a $1 million threshold unless Congress decides otherwise.
According to the IRS, only the wealthiest 2% pay federal estate tax. Some states have an estate tax as well as inheritance tax paid by heirs. (See "The 'death tax' is far from dead.")
Assets left to a spouse aren't included in the taxable estate. Other deductions include charitable gifts, debt, funeral expenses and the cost of settling the estate. (See the IRS's Estate Tax Questions.)
Estate-tax obligations can be reduced in several ways, including a bypass trust, an irrevocable-living trust, a life insurance trust and a charitable-remainder trust. (See Fast Answers: Retirement & Wills.)
Still breathing?What if you're alive but unable to make decisions? (See "3 legal papers you shouldn't live without.")
Prepare a durable power of attorney for finances, a living will and, because living wills aren't always enforceable, a proxy for health care. (See "3 all-too-common flaws of living wills.") Also consider a living trust.
Finally, know your rights when you're planning a funeral.
Read the Federal Trade Commission's Funerals: A Consumer Guide (.pdf file) and visit the Funeral Consumers Alliance Web site.
Save on expenses with direct cremation. (See "Plan a funeral for $800 or less.")
Published Oct. 23, 2007
By MSN Money staff
Even though most estates won't owe Uncle Sam, estate planning is essential for protecting you and your loved ones.
Most important? Providing for minor children. Your will should name both a guardian and a financial trustee for your kids in case you and your spouse die. (See "14 mistakes not to make with your will.")
To provide checks and balances, the guardian and the trustee should not be the same person.
Don't name a couple as guardian. They could split up or disagree about what's right for your child. (See "Who will take care of your kids if you die?")
Your child's other parent, even if you're divorced, will get custody if you die, unless that person is unfit because of mental illness or addiction.
Your willWhat else should -- and shouldn't -- be in a will? If you don't designate beneficiaries, the state will decide how to split up your estate, which can be time-consuming.
A simultaneous death clause will pass your estate to your children if your spouse dies shortly after you do.
Many states require that a third or half of your estate goes to your spouse, even if your will specifies a smaller share.
If you want children from a prior marriage to benefit from your estate, don't leave everything to your current spouse. A bypass trust provides regular income for a surviving spouse until death. Then the assets go to the children.
If you want to disinherit a child, spell that out in the will.
Avoid tying bequests to an heir's behavior. (See "6 tips to ensure your last wishes.") A testamentary trust or spendthrift trust in the will can control how money is distributed so an irresponsible heir can't blow it all at once.
Keep current the designated beneficiaries on retirement and life insurance accounts so those assets don't become a part of your will. A 401(k) automatically passes to the surviving spouse unless that spouse has signed a waiver.
Consider simplifying your will by giving away assets before you die, holding them in joint tenancy or transferring ownership to a trust. You can gift as much as $12,000 annually to as many people as you want, and you can pay someone's education and medical expenses directly to the providing institution, without triggering federal gift tax. See IRS Publication 950 (.pdf file).
Review your will -- and life insurance -- after major life changes. (See "Remarriage means revising your estate plans.") If you remarry, consider a prenuptial agreement. (See "Late-in-life marriages worry heirs.") If you move, remember that estate laws vary from state to state.
Name an executor and a backup. (See "12 easy steps to preparing your estate plan.")
Fulfilling your final wishesAn executor is responsible for valuing assets, paying off debts and taxes, and distributing what's left in accordance with the will. (See "Executors can inherit an unholy mess.")
File the will for probate, which is a court review of the will, in a timely fashion, usually 30 days. (State laws vary on the timing, as well as the size of estate subject to probate.)
Search the decedent's home thoroughly. Important documents and valuables could be hidden in dresser drawers or old shoes. Hopefully, financial records, including computer passwords and PINs, are in one secure location. If they're in a safety-deposit box, you may need a court order to open it. (See "Don't take your passwords to the grave.")
Change the name on the homeowners insurance policy to the estate. (See "Clearing out Dad's house.") Pay the mortgage and utility bills, and change the locks.
Prepare the house for sale. The costs of improvements can offset taxable gains from the sale.
Get a receipt for donated items. Use the Salvation Army's valuation guide. The American Society of Appraisers accredits professional personal-property appraisers.
TaxesNow, more about taxes. In 2007 and 2008, only the portion of an estate over $2 million is subject to federal estate tax. The threshold rises to $3.5 million in 2009 before the tax disappears in 2010. It will return in 2011 with a $1 million threshold unless Congress decides otherwise.
According to the IRS, only the wealthiest 2% pay federal estate tax. Some states have an estate tax as well as inheritance tax paid by heirs. (See "The 'death tax' is far from dead.")
Assets left to a spouse aren't included in the taxable estate. Other deductions include charitable gifts, debt, funeral expenses and the cost of settling the estate. (See the IRS's Estate Tax Questions.)
Estate-tax obligations can be reduced in several ways, including a bypass trust, an irrevocable-living trust, a life insurance trust and a charitable-remainder trust. (See Fast Answers: Retirement & Wills.)
Still breathing?What if you're alive but unable to make decisions? (See "3 legal papers you shouldn't live without.")
Prepare a durable power of attorney for finances, a living will and, because living wills aren't always enforceable, a proxy for health care. (See "3 all-too-common flaws of living wills.") Also consider a living trust.
Finally, know your rights when you're planning a funeral.
Read the Federal Trade Commission's Funerals: A Consumer Guide (.pdf file) and visit the Funeral Consumers Alliance Web site.
Save on expenses with direct cremation. (See "Plan a funeral for $800 or less.")
Published Oct. 23, 2007
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