A vacation cut short

The problem with putting things off…

In September, wanting to ensure their daughter Amy would be protected from a financial burden and needless stress, Betty and Albert had decided to take the advice of their lawyer when preparing their Wills, and begin pre-planning their final wishes with RESOLVED’s Co-founder, Adrian.

They were surprised at the costs involved with what were to be fairly simple funeral arrangements and, like many others, they had never realized all the details and decisions that would need to be resolved when one of them died.  Betty and Albert didn’t know what they didn’t know.

It all seemed overwhelming, especially to Albert, who decided it would be best to revisit the matter early in the new year after they returned from their January Arizona trip.  Adrian was asked to contact them again in February.
Unfortunately, Betty died suddenly in January, while in Arizona.

On his return home, with Betty’s cremated remains, Albert called Adrian. Cremation had not been Betty’s first choice, but the costs of repatriation from Arizona were prohibitive, leaving Albert no option other than to have her cremated in Arizona.

Over the following days and weeks Adrian guided Albert and daughter Amy through…

• Reviewing the options that had been discussed in September and discussing ideas to plan a very special service to memorialize Betty’s life, her values and beliefs.
• Attending the funeral home arrangement meeting to advocate on behalf of the family and ensure every detail of Betty’s service met the family’s wishes while working within a financial framework.
• Followed up with the Albert and Amy after the funeral to initiate the RESOLVED Final Document Preparation service, guaranteeing all estate letters, applications, notifications and benefit claims were completed. Nothing forgotten. Nothing overlooked.
• Using the RESOLVED My Funeral Plan process, assisted Albert in documenting all practical decisions regarding his own final wishes.
• Opened an Eligible Funeral Arrangement final expense insured annuity with Assurant Solutions that Albert could contribute to on a monthly basis.  Albert insisted that his personal plan protect Amy from additional costs and responsibilities should he die before his contributions were completed or away from home, as had Betty.
• Arranged for a Prepaid Funeral Contract with the funeral home to guarantee Albert’s funeral costs, using a portion of his new Assurant final expense annuity, therefore requiring no additional payments.
• Evaluated costs and benefits of the many interment and memorialization options available for Betty’s cremated remains (and Albert’s in the future), attended the local cemetery with Albert and Amy and arranged for a custom memorial marker direct from a leading manufacturer.

The savings attained through RESOLVED’s guidance and advocacy, including the value of benefits claimed for the estate, were significant.   RESOLVED’s Final Document Preparation saved Albert (and probably Amy) many, many hours in settling Betty’s various affairs.  Additional savings on memorial services and memorialization for Betty plus securing today’s costs for Albert’s final wishes in the future likely total thousands of dollars.

The case of Albert and Betty is a testament to value of all RESOLVED services.  However, it is also an unfortunate example of hardship and stress that could have been minimized with properly executed pre-planning steps.

Take this opportunity to protect your family.

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