182982 Resource 117780 116314 116314 1189723982107 1189723982107 Controlled CMS CEO Responds to Star Ledger Article

Benefits of Pre-Planning Outlined

The September 7th edition of The Star Ledger (New Jersey) included an article entitled, "The Cost of Dying: Planning Now Can Save Loved Ones Later" that failed to truly detail the financial and emotional benefits of pre-arranging for your final cemetery resting site. To ensure that readers and residents of New Jersey and surrounding areas are adequately informed, CMS CEO Bernard E. Stoecklein, Jr. drafted a letter to the editor. The letter's message appears below: Dear Editor: While the headline “Cost of Dying: Planning Now Can Save Loved Ones Later” (Sept. 7) implied that the article would address the benefits of pre-arranging, it failed to include key financial and emotional reasons why prearrangement should be addressed sooner rather than later.  The cost of everything is increasing. While funerals and cemetery property are not immune to inflation, pre-planning provides significant savings because it locks in today’s prices. Convenient payment plans are offered and once cemetery lots and crypts are paid in full, families do not incur any additional charges.  A misconception exists that insurance is to help with funeral expenses and cemetery property. Insurance is to help families adjust to the loss of income that a death causes. If prearrangements are not made, a portion of the insurance will need to help with the funeral and cemetery expenses – contributing more to the family’s financial burden.  Pre-arrangement allows couples to plan together -- sparing the surviving partner the heartache of making arrangements alone during an emotional time and gives people the peace of mind that their final wishes will be carried out.  When families take all of these factors into consideration, pre-planning today really can save loved ones later. The editor of The Star Ledger is in receipt of Mr. Stoecklein's letter. Check back soon to learn if the letter was printed in the paper. 10 application/xml false Bernard Stoecklein cemetery CMS-Mid-Atlantic New Jersey Pre-arrangement pre-planning Star Ledger Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 WebMaster false true false false true 117780 blog blogsite/CMSMidAtlantic/web