Pre-Arrangement

Planning a funeral can be a difficult and stressful process, normally accompanied by grief and the overwhelming sense of loss that follows the death of a loved one. The funeral directors at Rausch Funeral Home have the experience and training to guide families through the process of planning a funeral and help your loved ones plan an appropriate service for you.

As an alternative to passing this burden to your survivors, wouldn’t it be nice if you had a say in how your funeral was conducted – if your wishes could be met; if you could assist your loved ones in planning an appropriate, meaningful and personalized funeral or memorial service?

Pre-planning is the avenue to make all of the necessary arrangements for your funeral before death, you can plan the services, let your family know your wishes; even select a casket that matches your style instead of leaving such decisions to your family. Pre-planned funerals can be simply a directive, indicating service details and merchandise selections, or they can be pre-funded as well – securing the services you desire at today’s prices, protecting your assets from inflation and guaranteeing the services and merchandise you select at the current cost.

Rausch Funeral Home, P.A. funds pre-need funerals in two ways:

1. Life Insurance through Monumental Life Insurance Company

2. Escrowed bank accounts held in trust with Mercantile Southern Maryland Bank

To pre-plan and/or pre-fund your funeral service or one for a close family member, please Contact Us for an appointment.

A useful tool in discussing your desire to pre-plan your funeral is the Pre-Need Planning document. Using this form, you can identify music, scripture, poetry, and people you feel should play an important role in your services.

Important facts of Pre-Need:

1. Maryland state law requires that funeral homes deposit of minimum of 80% of preneed funds into a federally insured banking institution. We, as a practice, deposit 100% of all moneys for preneed accounts.
   
2. Rausch Funeral Home funeral directors are also licensed life insurance agents, who work with Monumental Life Insurance Company to pre-fund arrangements using life insurance policies. This options reduces the financial reporting responsibilities of the insured as the interest generated on these policies is not considered a taxable asset by the IRS. For more information about using life insurance to fund pre-arrangements, contact us.
   
3. When an Irrevocable Trust Agreement or Revocable Trust is established between the funeral home and the purchaser, the moneys are escrowed into an account under the purchasers Social Security Number in trust for Rausch Funeral Home. These funds are considered an asset to the purchaser regarding government benefits and taxation. Rausch Funeral Home mails IRS I-990 forms to each account holder annually for use in preparing tax returns. This form is a statement of interest earned during the previous year on pre-need accounts held in trust.
   
4. All Moneys in an Irrevocable Trust belong to the purchaser and are intended for their burial purposes only, these moneys cannot be refunded to the person at the time of death.
   
5. When a fully funded pre-planned funeral contract has been signed, no further moneys will be required to cover items listed on the Statement of Goods and Services Selected. If at the time of death the family wishes to add merchandise or services not included on the original agreement, they will be added at the current prices as detailed on the active General Price List for Rausch Funeral Home.
   
6. Any person wishing to transfer their preneed funds to another funeral home, in or out of state, is entitled to 100% refund of their initial funds and any interest the account has earned.