Evans Funeral Home: Memorial Packages

Our Custom Services Available to You

Evans Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home providing the most caring, quality service at the most affordable cost. Our entire staff is committed to ensuring that you receive the care and attention that have become part of our foundation, both during and after the loss of your loved one. The services that we provide can be tailored to meet the needs of your family. We have listed some service options as examples.

Traditional Service

The Traditional Service will include a Visitation, Funeral Ceremony and Graveside Service.

The visitation is typically held the day before the Funeral Ceremony and provides an opportunity for family and friends to gather and support each other in their time of grief. To allow as much time as possible, we offer visitation both in the afternoon and evening so that your family and friends have plenty of time to come and extend their sympathies. For the convenience of friends who are not able to be at the funeral home during visiting hours, we open our home at 8:30 am and will have staff members available to assist visitors. The funeral ceremony usually takes place the day following visitation and can be held at the funeral home or a church. The ceremony is intended to celebrate and remember the life of the person who died and can be made as meaningful and creative as the family wishes. Our funeral directors can help family members and friends create a personalized service that may include a piece of music that was special, or using some photographs to create a memory board of the person who has passed away. After the funeral ceremony a graveside service is held. This is usually a brief service, after which the casket will be either lowered into the grave, or placed in the mausoleum. The family can choose if they wish to stay for the lowering or placing.

Graveside Service

The Graveside Service includes the funeral and committal service at the cemetery or place of burial. The service does not have visitation or any funeral service at the funeral home or church. The other services that are provided for the Graveside Service are the basic services of the funeral director and staff, transfer of the body to the funeral home, embalming and other preparation of the body, the use of the hearse, care and delivery of floral arrangements, drafting and placement of obituary, coordination with clergy and cemetery, filing of government documents including Social Security and Veteran's Administration.

The Graveside Service option may be appropriate in some instances, however consideration should be given to the emotional value of a Traditional Funeral, which includes visitation and a funeral ceremony to celebrate and memorialize the life of the person that has died.

Memorial Celebration Options:

Memorial Celebrations honor and celebrate the life that was lived. Memorial Celebrations are often held in non-traditional settings, such as backyards, parks, golf courses, lakes, beaches, bars, clubs and other unique destinations. Memorial Celebrations are custom planned together with you and our Memorial Celebration Planner. Remember that any service we help you create will be arranged with respect and sensibility to your, and/or your family’s, wishes.

Memorial Celebration Service:
Pre-cremation, public funeral home viewing with a post-cremation public Memorial Celebration at your chosen destination
Pre-cremation, private funeral home viewing with a post-cremation public Memorial Celebration
Post-cremation public or private Memorial Celebration

Your Memorial Celebration can be virtually anytime at virtually anyplace!

Checklist

Call the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213. Social Security benefits include a one time benefit of $255 to the surviving spouse or dependent children. Check with your funeral director to determine what claims have already been filed for you.
Veteran's Administration claims can be completed at a Veteran's Hospital, the funeral home or cemetery. Contact your funeral director or the county Veteran's Services Officer to determine exactly what benefits have already been filed for.
Change the deed on your property and remove the deceased's name from that deed. This is done at the county seat where the property is located. You will need a certified copy of the Death Certificate for this.
Change the titles and registration of your vehicles. This is done at the Division of Motor Vehicles. This includes cars, trucks, trailers, motor homes mobile homes, homes, etc. You may use a photocopy of the Death Certificate for this.
Contact all life insurance companies the deceased had policies with. Request a claim form or ask for help from the local agent. Send in the claim form, the policy and a certified copy of the Death Certificate. If you need any help, your funeral director can assist you.

Traditionally, life insurance companies require only two documents to establish proof of a claim: a Statement of Claim and the Certificate of Death (or Attending Physician's Statement). Remember, though, that this is just a general statement and your insurance companies reserve the right to request further information or proof if they deem it necessary.

When filling out the claim, you should have the following information available:

The policy number(s) and face amount(s)
The full name and address of the deceased
His/her occupation and last day worked
His/her date and place of birth and the source of birth information
Date, place and cause of death
Claimant's name, age, address, and Social Security number

There are several ways of settling insurance claims. In most cases, you may opt for a lump sum benefit, or you may choose to have the money paid to you over a time period of your choice. In the latter case, the bulk of money remains with the insurance company and continues to gather interest. In either case, check with your insurance agent, financial advisor or attorney to find out which method would be most beneficial for your particular situation.

Contact credit card companies to notify them of the death. Some credit cards and charge accounts include a life insurance policy with them. They may want a certified copy of the Death Certificate. If the card is held jointly, find out what documentation is required to change into the survivor's name. Ask the credit bureau to assist you in transferring your spouse's credit into your name. They may also be able to assist you in determining any outstanding obligations of the deceased.
Make a prompt request for release from each bank or financial institution in which the deceased and you held a joint account. This is necessary before you can withdraw funds from that account. A bank will usually stop payment on all checks as soon as a death notice is published. The bank must also have the account cleared by the state tax authorities.
Change over all bank accounts and remove the deceased's name from those accounts. You may need a photocopy of the Death Certificate for this.
Contact any financial institution where the deceased had a loan and inform them of the death. They will be able to inform you if the loan was covered by credit life and what needs to be done to file the appropriate claim. A Death Certificate is often required.
Gather all of the bills together and make sure you are aware of all the credit obligations of the deceased. Many installment loans, service contracts, and credit card accounts are covered by credit life insurance, which pays off the account in the event of the death of the customer.
Contact all sources of retirement funds that the deceased was receiving and apply for any benefits that are due to you. You may need a certified copy of the Death Certificate for this.
Change all utilities from the deceased's name. It is a good idea to use your first initial and last name when listing your name in the phone book. This will help avert any unwanted or prank calls. Many, if not all of these accounts should be placed in a joint account with another family member to help in the processing of future estates.
Contact all health insurance companies to notify them of the death and stop coverage on the deceased.

Note: if a company requests a certified copy of the Death Certificate, but are not providing you with a benefit, allow the company to pay for their own certified copy, i.e.: a life insurance company will pay the claim for life insurance, so you need to provide them with a certified copy of the Death Certificate; a health insurance company, on the other hand, just needs to stop coverage. Allow them to provide their own certified copy of the Death Certificate if they require one.

WHAT IS A PREARRANGED FUNERAL?

In it's simplest form a prearranged funeral means putting your wishes down on paper. These papers may be kept by your executor or may best be kept on file at the funeral home of your choice. Your directions may specify the type of service that you wish, the place of burial, or desire for cremation, who you wish to officiate, musical selection, etc., and may also specify your wishes regarding caskets and costs.

PREARRANGED VS. PREPAID

A prepaid funeral takes the above one step further, the costs for the type of service you desire are arrived at in today's dollars. By choosing to prepay this amount, most funeral homes will guarantee to provide the agreed upon services for no additional costs, regardless of the time lapse. They do this by using the funds plus accrued interest to offset the funeral costs adjusted for inflation.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO PREPLAN YOUR FUNERAL?

The best time to begin making your prearrangements is now, while you're thinking about it. While some people in their 40's and 50's may think it's too early to preplan, people who do say that prearranging their funerals is smart financial planning and gives them added peace of mind knowing they aren't leaving this burden to family members. By taking time now to collect cost information and calmly making choices related to your own funeral arrangements, you'll be protecting your family against the stress of having to make these decisions at a time of extreme emotional stress. This way you can carefully choose specific items you want and need ... and pay for them now. Prepaid Investments allows families to fund their funerals in advance through bank and/or Insurance Trusts.

THE SIX COMMON REASONS FOR PREARRANGING FUNERALS:

Today, more individuals and families are making the decision to prearrange their funerals than ever before. Because of the factors such as inflation, fewer extended family members living close by, and other changes in our society, planning your own funeral can make a lot of sense. In a recent survey, these were the most common reasons people gave for prearranging their own funerals:

Lets your wishes be known.
Reduces stress for friends and family at an already emotional time.
Saves money.
Guarantees your family will never have to pay more for your funeral - no matter what happens with inflation.
Shows you care.
Relieves your loved ones of the financial responsibility.