When a Pre-Paid Funeral is finalised and the contract signed, a copy of the contract is held both by the arranger of the Pre-Paid Funeral, and by the Funeral Director. It is important that the contract is filed with other documents of a similar nature for when the need arises. It is also important to communicate to family and friends that these arrangements have been made and paid for in advance, as well as providing detailed instructions on where the contract can be located.
Unfortunately there is no central database that records Pre-Paid Funeral contracts, so if you have been informed or are aware of a family member/friend having taken out a Pre-Paid Funeral, we suggest to firstly look through their important documents for evidence of the contract. Secondly, speak to the person's Solicitor to see if they had the contract filed away for their client, or speak to Funeral Directors in this person's local area to see if they hold any record of a Pre-Paid Funeral contract being taken out. If you think there was a Pre-Paid Funeral, but cannot find the relevant papers, the contract may have been left with someone responsible such as:
- a Solicitor
- a trusted friend
- Next of Kin
- the Executor of the Will
- the Public Trustee.