All About Joint Funeral Plans

What Is A Joint Funeral Plan?

When a funeral plan is placed in the names of two people, it can be known as a joint funeral plan. This type of funeral plan ensures that if one partner in a couple passes away earlier than the other, then the funeral costs are already taken care of. 

Benefits Of A Joint Funeral Plan

There are some joint funeral benefits that you should know about if you are considering this option. The biggest motivator that leads people to opt for a joint funeral plan is if they would prefer not to have their surviving partner go through the financial stress of planning their funeral. Most companies will not charge anything extra for placing the funeral plan in the names of two people. If at all they take a fee, they refund that fee if you later opt for a second funeral plan from them. 

Another important factor is that it is up to you whether you want to use the funds set aside in the joint plan for the funeral of the first partner’s death, or if you want to save it for the second. It could very well be the case that at the time of the first person’s passing, you have enough in your savings and would rather save the benefits of the plan for the second death. In this case, it is completely up to you to make the decision about which funeral you want to avail the plan for.

Drawbacks Of A Joint Funeral Plan

One of the major drawbacks of a joint funeral plan is that despite being made in the names of two people, the plan can only cover the funeral service of one person. It is up to you whether that plan will be used to cover the person who dies first or the person who passes away second.

Another drawback to keep in mind is that a joint funeral plan may not be able to accommodate the kind of funeral services desired by people who wish for two different types of funerals, depending on their personal preferences. One partner may prefer a more lavish funeral while the other prefers something affordable and simple. In this case, either the couple will have to compromise or they will have to arrange extra funds in the time of need.

Combined Funeral And Double Burials

When a casket is made to accommodate two people within one instead of making two separate caskets for them, it is called a double casket. These are used in the case of a combined funeral, which is a different concept from the joint funeral plan. A combined funeral is one funeral service and sometimes just one burial that is meant to honor two people together. Combined funerals may be chosen for a variety of reasons. The most common situations leading to a combined funeral include tragic accidents or the successive passing of partners in an elderly couple.

A double casket is one way of having a double burial, however it is not always practical, since for two people to be buried in one casket they would have to die at times fairly close to another. In other situations, you can consider a double depth burial instead. If you opt for double depth companion plots, the cemetery will essentially agree to bury your caskets on top of each other. This is much more practical and useful in situations where the deaths of the partners may be far apart chronologically.

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