At this point we have compiled questions which we are asked time and again in order to provide quick answers.
If you have any further questions about funeral arrangements or would like to discuss individual points again at your leisure, we would be happy to talk to you by phone or in person.
Funeral provisions for your own funeral/burial can be made during your lifetime through a contract with a funeral home. From a legal point of view this is a mixed type of contract, predominantly subject to contract law. The contributions paid in advance should be saved in a trust account to protect against possible insolvency of the appointed funeral home.
The funeral provision regulates the actual funeral – it specifies in detail which funeral should take place and how, and this is financially secured. Funeral expense insurance is used to provide financial security for funeral expenses and other costs directly related to death. A funeral provision does not necessarily require funeral expense insurance.
The following points and more can be specified in a funeral provision: Type of funeral, organisation and procedure of the funeral service and celebrations after the funeral, place of burial, funeral speaker, music, obituary, flowers, gravestone and grave decoration. In addition to these contents there are other aspects which can be specified in a funeral provision in accordance with individual wishes. The Calla team would be happy to advise you during a non-binding consultation.
Changing or terminating a funeral provision is in principle only possible between the two contracting parties. The contract cannot be changed after death.
A savings account is not considered a safe funeral provision. Savings accounts can be closed by social services to finance living expenses if the savings book holder should be dependent on public assistance in old age.
Savings accounts should also not be issued in the name of a funeral director, as the savings accounts will otherwise be lost in the event of the funeral director’s insolvency.
Yes, because a funeral provision is an expression of one’s own personality and is recognised as a special fund at an appropriate amount. A funeral provision can be secured from one’s own savings before possible nursing home costs exceed one’s own assets. If an “adequate” funeral provision already exists at the time of the application for social assistance, then this can remain in place without restriction.
