Planning ahead
Plan it now, so nobody has to guess later
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For yourself or a parent. There are three ways to plan a funeral in advance, and they are not the same thing: you can pay for it, you can insure it, or you can write down what you want and who decides. Most people end up with a mix.
Create my wishesAbout 10 minutes. Undecided is fine. You leave with a plan you can print.
No account, email or phone number to read any of it. We don't sell insurance and we don't recommend attorneys.
Three ways to plan ahead
Start with the one you came here for. Each section stands on its own.
Pre-pay for a funeral
Lock a price with a funeral home now, or set the money aside so it is there when it is needed.
Read this sectionFive questions before you sign →Life and burial insurance
A policy that pays out when it is needed, sized to the bill, and the fine print that decides whether it does.
Read this sectionFour kinds, and what each pays →Wills, wishes and who decides
What a will does and doesn't do about a funeral, and the papers that make sure your wishes are read in time.
Read this sectionThree pieces of paper →01 · Pre-pay
Pre-pay for a funeral
Paying ahead does two things: it fixes the choices, so a family isn't making them in a bad week, and it can fix the price. There are two ways to do it, and the difference matters more than the brochures suggest.
A pre-need contract with a funeral home
You choose the service and the goods with one home and pay for them now, in full or in instalments. Some contracts guarantee the price of what you chose; others only hold the money against whatever the price is later. The money usually sits in a trust or an insurance policy in your name rather than in the home's account. Where it sits, and what happens to it if the home closes, is set by your state.
Setting the money aside yourself
A savings account with a named beneficiary (often called payable-on-death), or a funeral trust, keeps the money outside the estate and available within days, but it ties you to no home and no price. It fits people who want the money ready and the decisions left open.
Before you sign anything
Five questions, in the order a contract tends to hide the answers.
- Is the price guaranteed, or just the money held?
- Ask for the word “guaranteed” in the contract against each item. Cash-advance items (the obituary, the certified copies, the clergy) are usually not.
- What happens if the home closes, is sold, or you move?
- Whether the plan transfers to another home, and what it is worth when it does, depends on the contract and on your state's rules for pre-need funds.
- Can it be cancelled, and how much comes back?
- Some plans refund in full, some keep a share, some are irrevocable by design. Get the cancellation terms in writing before the deposit.
- Where is the money held, and who can see the statement?
- You should be able to name the trust or the insurer and receive a statement. If the answer is “with us”, ask again.
- What does the same service cost at the home down the road?
- A guaranteed price only helps if it was a fair price to begin with. Ask for the General Price List. Every home has one, and we publish the ones we have read.
Start with the number
Planning ahead? One email a month
One planning topic a month for a year, with your state's prices and rules. Pause or stop anytime.
Sign me up01 · Your next step
See real prices first
Checked price lists from funeral homes near you, so you know what a fair guaranteed price looks like before anyone quotes one.
02 · Insurance
Life and burial insurance
Insurance turns a bill into a monthly premium and pays a sum to a person you name. Four kinds get sold for funerals, and they differ in size, in how long they last, and in how quickly they pay.
Term life
Covers a set number of years for a larger sum. Cheap while you are young and healthy; it ends when the term does, and a funeral is only one of the things it is for.
Whole life
Lasts as long as the premiums are paid and builds a cash value. Costs more than term for the same sum; the payout is there whenever it is needed.
Final expense (burial) insurance
A small whole-life policy sized to a funeral, typically sold to older buyers with few or no health questions. The trade-off is the price per dollar of cover, and often a waiting period before the full sum is paid.
Pre-need insurance
Sold through a funeral home to fund a specific plan; the payout is usually assigned to that home. It is the insurance version of the pre-need contract above, with the same questions to ask.
Questions that decide whether it pays
A policy is a promise with conditions. These are the four that matter.
- How much do I actually need?
- Price the funeral you would want, not a round number. A direct cremation and a traditional burial can differ by several thousand dollars in the same town. Our cost guides show the spread from published price lists.
- Is there a waiting period?
- Many no-exam policies pay only premiums back, or a partial sum, if death occurs in the first years. Ask for the “graded benefit” terms and the date the full sum applies.
- What will I have paid in by the time it pays out?
- Multiply the premium by the years you might reasonably pay it. On a small policy bought late, the total can pass the payout.
- Who is the beneficiary, and do they know?
- A policy pays a person, not a funeral. Name someone who will be there, tell them, and keep the policy number where they can find it.
Get the number right
Where we stand
We do not sell insurance and are not licensed to advise on it. Nothing on this page is a recommendation of a policy or a carrier; it is the vocabulary you need to read one.
02 · Your next step
Price the funeral first
A direct cremation and a traditional funeral and burial are priced very differently, even in the same town. Look up checked prices near you. That's the number any policy or plan you look at would need to cover.
03 · Wills & legal
Wills, wishes and who decides
A will settles what happens to what you own. It is a poor place to put funeral wishes: it is often read after the funeral, and in many states it is not the document that decides who has the right to make the arrangements. Planning ahead means three separate pieces of paper.
A will
Names an executor and says who gets what. Without one the state's default order applies, and the estate takes longer to settle. Funeral costs are usually paid from the estate before anything else is shared out.
A letter of wishes, and who decides
A short, signed page (burial or cremation, where, what kind of service, what not to spend on) kept with the people who will need it in the first day. Who has the legal right to decide varies by state; some let you name that person in advance.
Powers while you are alive
A durable power of attorney for money and a healthcare directive for treatment. Neither is about the funeral, but a plan that stops at death leaves the harder months before it uncovered.
Worth knowing
The three questions people ask once they see the difference between a will and a wish.
- Does a will have to go through probate?
- Most estates with a will still pass through the probate court; what changes is how long it takes and what it costs, which depends on the state and on how much was arranged in advance. Our executor pages cover that side.
- Can a funeral home refuse my written wishes?
- The home follows the person with the legal right to decide. If that person and your letter disagree, the letter usually persuades but does not bind. That is why naming the decider, where your state allows it, matters more than the letter.
- Do I need a lawyer?
- For a simple will and a healthcare directive, many people use a state-specific form or an online service. An estate with a business, property in more than one state, or a blended family is where a lawyer earns the fee.
Online wills, compared
We score ten online will services the same way, on price, what you keep if you stop paying, documents, state rules, help when you're stuck, privacy and complaints. Here are the three highest scores.
- Top score1FreeWill
Free will, health and financial documents, and a living trust in California, paid for by more than 2,400 nonprofits and businesses.
- Free to make a will, with no card needed. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Covers all 50 states and DC, with signing steps for Louisiana. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Its privacy notice says your data isn't shared with others for their marketing. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- It may ask whether you'd like to leave a gift to a charity; your details go to a charity only if you choose one.
- 2US Legal Wills
A will from $49.95, and 40% off for a spouse or partner, with a year of updates; after that, updates are $14.95 a year and aren't charged automatically.
- 3Do Your Own Will
Free will, living will and powers of attorney, with no account or card needed.
- A free copy of the will for your spouse. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Says its wills are valid in all 50 states and DC. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Free updates, with an instant download. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- It's paid for by ads and affiliate links.
- It doesn't make trusts or address Louisiana.
Show all 10
- 4Rocket Lawyer
Wills are made under a membership, from $149 a year, which also includes written questions to an attorney.
- Phone help Monday to Friday, 6am to 6pm Pacific, and live chat. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Signing steps for each state, with a self-proving affidavit, Louisiana included. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Also makes a living trust, powers of attorney and healthcare documents. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- You need an active membership to edit.
- 5Nolo / Quicken WillMaker
From $109, with state-specific signing instructions.
- Wills print with a self-proving affidavit where your state allows one. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Phone and email help, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Eastern. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Its plans include a living trust, final arrangements and letters to survivors. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Online changes for a year, then $39.99 a year.
- Not available in Louisiana.
- 6LegalZoom
A basic will from $99, or $199 for a couple, on its estate plan comparison page; its main will page shows $129 and $229. 30 days of changes.
- Phone and chat help every day of the week. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Wills come with signing instructions for your state. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- The will lets you name a guardian for children and record funeral wishes. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Attorney review comes with a $199 yearly plan.
- 6Trust & Will
A will plan for $199.
- Live chat with a person, Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm Pacific. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Online signing and notarization in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Nevada and Utah. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- The will plan includes a healthcare directive, a power of attorney and guardians for children and pets. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Changes later need a $49 yearly membership.
- Its privacy policy says it may be paid for sharing your details with partner banks and credit unions.
- 8Gentreo
Will, trust and directives for $150 in the first year, then $50 a year.
- Phone and email support. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Covers pet documents and a health care proxy as well as the will and trust. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Its signing guide covers self-proving affidavits. Source, checked Oct 27, 2026
- Its terms say stored documents are deleted when you cancel, and its privacy policy says it may share or sell your information.
- 8GoodTrust
Will, trust and directives for $149 in the first year.
- 10LegalShield
A monthly legal plan, from $39.95, in which a lawyer from a provider firm prepares your will, covering a spouse too.
- Unlimited advice on personal legal issues from a provider law firm. Source, checked Oct 7, 2026
- A power of attorney and a living will for you and your spouse. Source, checked Oct 7, 2026
- Online notarization included, from one a year on the Basic plan. Source, checked Oct 7, 2026
- It's an ongoing membership, not a one-time document.
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Read now
Where we stand
We do not endorse or recommend any attorney, and nothing here is legal advice. Where your situation is unusual, the statute is the authority, and our law pages link to it.
03 · Your next step
Probate lawyers and fees, by state
What probate costs where you live, including the states that set lawyers' fees in law. Firms are named only where an attorney is active on the state bar roster or, where the bar publishes no number, holds an ACTEC, NELF or board-certification credential. You decide whether to contact anyone.
Where we stand, in plain words
Planning pages on most sites exist to sell you something. This one exists to make the next page easier.
What you will not find here
A quote form that sells your details to insurers
A lawyer "match" that is really a referral fee
A pre-need plan ranked by who paid us
Advice from an author nobody has named
Instead
Real prices from funeral homes' own published lists, so a guaranteed price can be judged
Every guide written by a named author and checked by a named reviewer, with the date
State law linked to the statute, not summarised from memory
Someone has already died? Start with the first 24 hours →
Start where you are
All guides →- At need
The first 48 hours after a death: five steps, in order
Who to call, who to tell, what to find, how to choose a funeral home with prices in hand, and what can wait.
- Pricing a casket
Casket Prices: What Funeral Homes Charge
What the least and most expensive caskets cost on 1,464 funeral home price lists, your right to see prices first, and buying a casket somewhere else.
- Keeping costs down
The Cheapest Way to Have a Funeral
The lowest-cost options, direct cremation and immediate burial, with prices from the funeral home price lists we checked, and ways to cut the cost of a funeral.
- Whole-body donation
Donating Your Body to Science: How It Works
How whole-body donation works, how to sign up ahead, what a family does at the time of death, what programs often cover, and what a family may still pay.
- Pricing a funeral
How Much Does Embalming Cost, and Is It Required?
What funeral homes charge for embalming, from 1,751 price lists we checked, when it's required, and what you can choose instead, like refrigeration.