A Funeral Plan created for you by a local independent Funeral Director in association with Golden Charter Funeral Plans. A thoughtful decision. Consideration for loved ones is the most frequent reason for purchasing a Funeral Plan.
With our Independent Way Funeral Plan we will make sure that your loved ones are spared much of the stress of organising a funeral. You'll have specified every detail in advance, selected the Funeral Director and made provision for all the costs within their control.
A
Golden Charter plan will bring you peace of mind
More than 120,000 people in Great Britain have planned their funerals with
Golden Charter, an independent company that is British-owned and run. They
know that their money is secure and their funeral director's services are
fully guaranteed. A Golden Charter plan covers all the costs within your independent
funeral director's control.
A
Golden Charter plan covers all your independent funeral director's services
Once you've paid for your Golden Charter plan, you can be sure that neither
your loves ones nor your estate will be asked for a penny more for the services
within the control of your funeral director - no matter how much these costs
may rise in years to come.
An
allowance for disbursements
Some costs are paid on your behalf by the funeral director but are not within
his or her control. Known as disbursements, they include the fees of doctors,
clergy, cemeteries, crematoria, newspaper notices and memorials. Only if the
increase in these costs were to exceed normal inflationary increases might
there be a balance to pay at the time of need.
Your
payment will be held in an independent trust fund
Your payment will go directly to the Golden Charter Trust, which will hold
the money for your funeral on behalf of participating funeral directors. This
is why your funeral director is able to provide a legally binding contract,
guaranteeing that your selected arrangements will be carried out when required.
The Trust Fund is a legally separate entity from Golden Charter. In the unlikely
event of something untoward affecting the company, the Fund would continue
until every plan has been carried out.
A
comparison with high-interest building society accounts
Why should you pay towards your funeral in advance? Would you do better to
put your money in a building society? On past evidence the answer is clearly
no. In recent years funeral prices have increased in excess of inflation and
putting money in a high-interest building society account would not have kept
up with these increases. In comparison, a Golden Charter plan would have given
much better value, for example, if, in 1991, you'd invested £640 (then the
price of one of our Standard Way plans) in a building society, it would have
grown to £919.47 over the next thirteen years. Yet the same funeral has more
than doubled in cost to £1,380. The difference would have been £460.53 - a
costly shortfall.
What
about insurance-based funeral expenses policies?
IInsurance policies that cover funeral expenses have two principal disadvantages:
* Lack of personal choice - you can't specify the arrangements.
* Questionable value - many policyholders in reasonable health have lived
to a good age and paid far more in premiums than the cost of their funerals.
Freedom
of choice
There are no restrictions on your choice of funeral director with Golden Charter.
No
restrictions
Some funeral planning companies may restrict your choice of funeral director,
which could be distressing to the bereaved. It might mean having to travel
some distance to a firm not known to the family. There are no such limitations
with a Golden Charter plan. Your wishes will be carried out by someone you
know and trust. Across the country 2,100 independent funeral directors accept
our plans.
Woodland
Trust
A free feature of every plan, unique to Golden Charter - when you purchase
a plan and ask for a donation to be made to the Woodland Trust - a tree will
be planted on your behalf by the Woodland Trust.
