Transferring a Prepaid Funeral Plan When You Move or Switch

Many prepaid funeral plans can be moved or changed, but what usually moves is the money or the insurance benefit, not the original price guarantee. Whether you can transfer depends on where you live, how the plan is funded and whether it is revocable. The best first step is to read your contract, then ask the funeral home you want to use what it would accept.

What does transferring a prepaid plan mean?

People use "transfer" for four different situations, and each works differently:

• Moving to a new area and wanting a funeral home near your new home to carry out the plan.
• Switching funeral homes because you prefer another provider or its prices.
• Changing the plan, for example from burial to cremation, with the same provider or a new one.
• Moving countries, which often means starting again under the new country's rules.

In every case, the plan is a contract, and its terms come first. Two other questions decide how much choice you have. Is the money held in a trust or used to buy an insurance policy? And is the plan revocable, meaning you can cancel and take the money back, or irrevocable, meaning you cannot?

What moves with you, and what might not?

The Funeral Consumers Alliance says any plan should be transferable to another funeral establishment if you move, change your mind or the firm closes. It also warns that moving the funds does not oblige the new funeral home to honor your original prices. In practice, that means:

• The money or benefit moves. For a trust-funded plan, the new home is named in place of the old one. For an insurance-funded plan, the funeral home named as beneficiary changes, which may require a form from the insurer.
• The price guarantee may not. If the receiving home charges more than your old one, your estate may have to pay the difference.
• Third-party items are the usual gap. Cemetery charges, death certificates and similar items may not have been covered in the first place.
• Trust interest may stay behind. The Funeral Consumers Alliance notes that some sellers can withdraw interest on prepaid trust funds, so ask what happens to the interest if you leave.

How do you transfer a plan, step by step?

1. Find your paperwork. You want the original contract, the trust receipt or insurance policy, any statements, and the plan number. The FTC stresses keeping your family informed about where prepaid paperwork is.
2. Work out the funding type and whether it is irrevocable. The contract should say. If it does not, ask the provider in writing.
3. Ask the new funeral home first. Ask for its General Price List and what it would need to accept an existing plan. A home that wants your business will often handle the contact with the old provider.
4. Compare the totals. Price the same arrangements at the new home and compare them with what your plan would pay.
5. Ask the current provider in writing for its transfer or cancellation terms, any fees, and the timeline.
6. Complete the new paperwork and confirm the funds arrive. Ask for a new contract or written confirmation naming the new home.
7. Update your family and your documents, and destroy or mark the old copies so nobody is confused.

What documents should you gather?

What do state laws say about moving a plan in the US?

Prepaid funeral law is state law, so details differ. Two examples show the range.

• New York. Under General Business Law 453, an irrevocable account set up for a person receiving SSI or Medicaid can still be changed to a different funeral firm, in New York or another state, and the change must be carried out within ten business days of the purchaser's request to the firm holding the money. If a funeral business closes, it must repay the money with accrued interest within thirty days.
• New Jersey. Under N.J.A.C. 13:36-11.13, a provider must act on a refund request within 14 days of receiving it, and must forward insurance cancellation requests to the insurer within three days.

Many states give you other rights or fewer. Your state's funeral board, attorney general or consumer protection office can tell you what applies, and the FTC advises asking, before you buy, whether a plan transfers if you move.

Transferring a funeral plan in the UK

UK plans are contracts with a regulated provider. Two providers' published terms show how different the answers can be:

• Golden Charter says that if you move home, it can transfer your plan to a local funeral director nearer your new house, though it says some changes may incur extra costs. It says its Direct Cremation Plan has a fixed price with no additional costs.
• Pure Cremation's terms say you cannot transfer your plan to anyone else. After the free cancellation period it deducts a £350 fee, and plans only apply when you die in mainland Britain.

Moving your money to a different provider normally means cancelling and buying a new plan. FCA rules give you a full refund if you cancel within 30 days, or within 7 days of a funeral director being appointed if that ends later, and on instalment plans during the waiting period of up to 24 months. After that the provider can charge a fee. Check any new provider on the FCA Firm Checker before you pay, and see our UK funeral plan guide.

Transferring a plan in Canada

Each province has its own rules. In Ontario, you, your legal representative or another named person can cancel or change a prepaid contract at any time before supplies or services are provided, in writing. A trust-funded contract gets a full refund within 30 days, and afterwards the provider may keep up to 10% of the amount paid, to a maximum of $350. Cancelling an insurance-funded contract does not necessarily cancel the insurance policy, so check the insurer's terms separately. See prepaid funeral plans in Canada.

Should you transfer or cancel?

Transferring makes sense if you like the plan but need a different provider. Cancelling may suit you if the plan no longer fits, but check the refund first. Our guides on cancelling a prepaid plan and whether prepaid plans are worth it cover that decision, and our prepaid plan comparison looks at the options.

What to do next

1. Collect the contract, funding document and latest statement.
2. Ask the new funeral home for its price list and its terms for accepting your plan.
3. Ask your current provider, in writing, what it would charge and how long it would take.
4. If Medicaid or SSI is involved, get advice before changing anything.
5. Give your executor and family the updated paperwork.