Plan ahead for peace of mind

The advantages of planning ahead

Pre-plan your funeral for peace of mind

Planning your funeral in advance is a sensible way of ensuring your wishes are adhered to, as well as sparing your family or loved ones unnecessary worry about arrangements in their time of grief.

There is no age limit. Young or old, the best time to plan is now. Planning leaves nothing to chance and gives you one less thing to worry about.

It is also important to realise that once your plan is made you are not locked into it. At Marsden House we are there to help with your questions and concerns. Since the 1920s the Day family has been assisting the people of Nelson with their funerals, and our funeral planning offers flexibility, to make alterations to the arrangements as circumstances change.

Marsden House has available the well-established and reputable prepaid Marsden House Funeral Plan. Talk to us today about how this can work for you.

Two options – Pre-planning or prepaying

Pre-planned funerals: You may like, at this stage, to pre-plan your funeral without paying for it. You can choose the type of service you want. You make your wishes known to us in confidence and we record them. There is no charge for this service.

The next step after pre-planning is prepayment.

Prepaid funerals: Prepaid funeral funds are lodged in a specific trust, independent of Marsden Funeral Services and are fully secured with the bank. Funds deposited in the Marsden House Trust Fund are secure and can be released only by the presentation of a death certificate.

“Pre–planning and prepaying not only gives you peace of mind but also significant financial benefits for you and your family.”
Francis Day (FBIE)

Help protect your pension or income

Prepaid funerals are now excluded from Government asset testing for long–term residential care, so the amount you pay towards the funeral plan does not get assessed as part of your total assets. This means that there is no financial penalty for your careful planning. If you have to go in to rest home care any money you put in to the trust (up to $10,000, as of 2010) will not be used to pay for that care.

Reduce the burden on your family:
Because you have made many of the major decisions in the pre–planning process and because you have prepaid for the funeral, the financial and emotional burden on your family and loved ones is reduced.

Security of your investment

Prepaid funeral costs are lodged in a specific trust, independent of Marsden House Funeral Services and are fully secured with the National Bank. Marsden House acts as custodian of the trust and has no financial interest in the trust. In the unlikely event of anything happening to Marsden House Funeral Services the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand will become custodians.

Choices

Prepayment ensures that your express wishes are carried out. You can choose the type of funeral service you want, including readings, funeral celebrant, music, casket etc. You make these choices in your own time, free from the anxiety and stress that surrounds death.

Flexibility

Marsden House Funeral Services can help you carefully document your wishes and you will receive a copy of your plan. However, it is important to realise that you are free to change the arrangements at a later time if you wish. If the funeral is to be in another town we can arrange for the funeral to be carried out by another FDANZ member.

Payment options

Marsden House makes prepaying easy with a variety of payment options. You can pay for funeral expenses only. You can pay small regular or irregular instalments or you can pay by lump sum. Talk to Marsden House about your options.

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