North Park Business Center
11630 Slater Ave NE, Suite 1A
Kirkland, WA 98034
Telephone (425) 823-1900
Fax (425) 823-1977
Office Hours 9:00 to 5:00 M-F
Evenings & Weekends by Appt
8226 212th Street SW
Edmonds, WA 98026
Telephone (206)-420-1875
Fax (425) 823-1977
Office Hours 9:00 to 4:00 M-F
Evenings & Weekends by Appt
Renton Plaza Building
1400 Talbot Rd. S., Suite 104
Renton, WA 98055
Telephone (206) 329-7800
Fax (425) 823-1977
Office Hours By Appointment
"Low Cost" has meaning only when one answers the question, "Compared to what?" Low cost airlines deliver people from point A to point B with remarkably little difference in the end result between those who fly first class on a full service airline and those who fly to the same destination on the deep-discount airline. Both arrive at the same busy destination, wait for baggage, and confront immigration, customs, or security personnel who treat everyone with similar disregard.
Most people don't know too much about funeral costs and what they are actually paying for so it is generally difficult to know if "low cost" is right for them. Astonishingly those who take the time to learn, even if they are inclined to fly first class when choosing an airline, almost always opt for the low cost funeral service as long as they know two important factors are provided by the funeral director:
Barton Family Funeral Service recommends pre-planning your funeral service and evaluating your options before deciding to pre-fund your services.
The best way to pre-fund your insurance needs is with an insurance product written by a good insurance company. That way your funds are safe and always under your control. In addition, Washington State has stringent laws about the safety and financial health of insurance companies. If a company is allowed to sell insurance in Washington, you can be assured that your money is safe.
We are not a fan of paying for funeral services in advance into a funeral provider’s trust account. So-called guaranteed prices are sometimes not totally honored. A common excuse is, “Oh, they don’t make that casket anymore.” The nice people at a funeral home that sold the pre-need plan might not be there anymore when you need them. Or the funeral home isn’t there anymore. There is too much uncertainty.
The safest way is to simply fund it through insurance which is portable and goes with you where ever you may go. Talk to you tax advisor or accountant about tax advantages of sheltering funds in a properly structured insurance policy.
Pre-arranged funeral contracts are called "Pre-need" contracts to distinguish them from "At-Need" arrangements. Funeral contracts that are written between the consumer and funeral establishment at the time of a death are At-Need Contracts. We feel that the At-Need Contract drawn up after a death has occurred is when a family is least prepared to make all of the many decisions involved; therefore, the concept of making these important decisions early and in a more informed manner makes sense. This area of planning is call Pre-Planning.
Read the rest of this ArticleThe history of funeral service is a history of mankind. Funeral customs are as old as civilization itself. Every culture and civilization attends to the proper care of their dead. Every culture and civilization ever studied has three things in common relating to death and the disposition of the dead:
Researchers have found burial grounds of Neanderthal man dating to 60,000 BC with animal antlers on the body and flower fragments next to the corpse indicating some type of ritual and gifts of remembrance.
With no great psychological knowledge or custom to draw from, Neanderthal man instinctively buried their dead with ritual and ceremony.
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