Trust not trustworthy

According to Illinois Funeral Director and blogger R. Brian Burkhardt, the author of Rest in Peace: an Insider's Look at the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral, the Illinois Funeral Directors Association (IFDA) has mismanaged 40 million dollars in preneed trust funds. See his blog posting at yourfuneralguy.wordpress.com

Apparently the money did not get stolen, as raiding preneed trust funds is not new to the prepaid funeral industry, (for example see starbulletin.com/2004/06/19/news/story6.html), but was merely mismanaged into a deficit. Forty million dollars would cover a lot of funerals. And what happens to all the people who place their money in a "trust" if the til runs dry? They or their families have to pay again.

Prepaid funerals are not a good idea.  Now, if you have your heart set on a nice scenic cemetery plot next to your spouse's, you can purchase that piece of land knowing it isn't going to disappear or be withdrawn, or shrink in size and service.   Please determine how much the funeral you want is going to cost, then open a pay on death account at a bank called a Totten Trust. This will insure that your money will not be lost or stolen, and the interest should accrue and cover any increase in prices.