Why a Funeral Trust is a Key Part of Estate Planning

In estate planning, a lawyer can assist you in establishing a living trust to protect your legacy, ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes, and help your family avoid unnecessary delays and expenses. Similarly, at Mount Sinai, we offer a funeral trust that provides these same benefits. It secures your legacy, ensures your family understands your wishes, and eliminates delays in accessing funds—offering peace of mind during a time when critical decisions need to be made quickly.

What Is a Funeral Trust

A funeral trust allows you to prepay and plan for your arrangements, from transportation at the time of need through the service to the memorial marker. At Mount Sinai, we also offer a fixed 3% compounded annual interest rate on your contributions, as well as a matching Mount Sinai credit in consideration of rising costs. Many funeral homes will only offer credit to their business should you decide to cancel your preneed. However, a Mount Sinai funeral trust is completely revocable up until the last payment.

Benefits of Choosing a Funeral Trust

Choosing to create a funeral trust provides several key advantages over placing funds in traditional trusts associated with estate planning. A Mount Sinai trust allows you to:

  • Financially Secure Funeral Details: With a Mount Sinai funeral trust, we have you covered from transportation and property selection to your memorial marker.
  • Ease Probate: Assets in a funeral trust can make things easier when dealing with probate court, saving your heirs time and reducing legal expenses.
  • Immediate Accessibility: Unlike life insurance payouts or wills, funds are immediately available when needed.
  • Offset Inflation: Contributions in our funeral trust grow at a fixed 3% compounded annual interest.
  • Interest-Free Payment Terms: We never charge you interest on your payment plan with Mount Sinai.
  • Peace of Mind: A funeral trust relieves your family of making myriad difficult decisions in a short amount of time.

What Is Mount Sinai’s Matching Credit

Your contributions earn 3% compounded interest accrued semiannually. Think of compounding interest as a way for your money to grow on its own. Each year, your trust earns interest (3%) not just on the original amount you put in, but also on the interest that has already been earned. Over time, this can add up to a lot more growth compared to regular, simple interest.

For example:
If you put $10,000 into our funeral trust, in the first year you’d earn $302.25 in interest. This is because after the first six months you would earn $150 in interest (just like simple interest). But, for the second six months, you’d earn interest on $10,150 instead of just the principal. This results in slightly higher earnings for all subsequent interest deposits.

We understand that rising costs can be unpredictable and that the interest you earn may not be enough. Mount Sinai offers to match the amount of accrued interest on your trust as a credit that can be used at Mount Sinai toward any of the physical goods and services we offer.

How to Set Up Your Funeral Trust

Setting up a funeral trust is simple and starts with a consultation. Here’s how to get started:

  1. Meet with an Advisor: Call our Advance Planning Department at (323) 769-1330 and schedule a consultation to discuss service options.
  2. Create Your Trust: Start with $1,000 and a one-time $250 setup fee, and finance the balance up to 60 months while earning interest on each payment you make toward the principal.
  3. Document Your Wishes: Choose the goods and services that you would like Mount Sinai to provide at the time of need.