How can I fund my funeral?

As a Funeral Director I would like to sincerely apologize to the families affected by the closure of a local funeral home and for all the pain, sorrow and frustration that they may be experiencing. We are grateful that we have a proactive Board of Funeral Services that investigates complaints and ideally removes the bad apples in the industry. Unfortunately, some articles in the media have been misleading to families who have prepaid for funeral services. In the province of Manitoba there are 2 methods of funding funerals.

The first and least popular method, presented in the article, is to use a trust account. If the funeral home opts to use this method, they must first register with the Funeral Board of Manitoba. This method is where the monies are held in trust at a chartered bank on your behalf by the funeral home of your choice. A disadvantage of this is that the funeral home may retain a maximum of 12% for their fees and are only legally required to deposit 88% of your total funds.

The other method that most funeral homes, including Voyage Funeral Home, opt to use is insurance. Using this method to fund funerals has many advantages over a trust account. First and foremost, the monies are held in YOUR name by an entity separate and apart from the funeral home. This protects you the consumer against business failure and unscrupulous business practice. Another advantage is that the policy is transferable to any funeral home across North America. Finally, interest on insurance funds are tax exempt. Because the transaction is between YOU and the insurance company and the certificate is held in YOUR name and not the funeral home, it is not necessary for Voyage Funeral Home to register with the Funeral Board. The only way that Voyage Funeral Home gains access to these funds is for us to provide the insurance company with proof of death.

We hope this helps clear up any confusion that may have arisen from the articles and news stories. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us directly.