Guaranteed Funeral Deposits of Canada

• Pre-paying makes sure that there are funds available to cover the cost of your final wishes.
• Pre-paying relieves your family from the stress of paying and arranging for your funeral, so they can focus on themselves and honoring your story.
• Families are better able to cope when the subject of final planning has been discussed and an arrangement is in place.
• Pre-arranging for your funeral is good financial planning and is part of every estate plan.
• Pre-planning gives you the peace of mind knowing that your final wishes were carried out the way you wanted them to and your family was spared the burden of paying for a funeral.
• You are eligible receive discounts when you pre-pay.
• In most cases, prices are guaranteed, which means that you lock into today’s prices for a service in the future.
• We at GFD are committed to selecting pre-planning funding products that are guaranteed, stable and healthy so your money is safe with us.

Pre-arranging starts with you contacting the licensed funeral establishment where you wish to have your funeral. A licensed Funeral Director will walk you through the steps to get you started. To find a funeral establishment near you, click here.

Funeral costs depend on the services and the products you choose, such as casket, flowers, catering, music, etc. Your local funeral establishment can give you an estimate of the cost of a funeral.

Yes, it absolutely is. All licensed funeral establishments in Ontario contribute to a Compensation Fund which is administered by the Board of Funeral Service. The Board of Funeral Services provides compensation in the event of misappropriation of trust monies, protecting the consumer.

All Ontario funeral homes, cemeteries, transfer services and crematoriums are governed by provincial regulation. All funds deposited with a licensed funeral establishment must, by law, be deposited “in trust” to a bank, credit union or loan company in Ontario. All funds on deposit with GFD are placed with a bank and invested only in GIC’s (as per provincial regulation), and consequently are protected by either CDIC (federal insurance) if deposited in a bank, or DICO (provincial insurance) if deposited with a credit union, or Assuris (industry sponsored not-for-profit corporation) if deposited with an insurance company.

GFD offers Trust, Insurance, Annuity and Travel Assistance Plans to pay for your funeral pre-arrangement. When you invest with us, our products earn interest which is meant to offset the rate of inflation. Our portfolio of financial products outperforms all banking institutions in Ontario and most funeral establishments in Ontario carry our products.

When you purchase a funeral pre-arrangement, you can either pay the entire sum at once, or pay in monthly, quarterly or yearly installments.

As your life circumstances change, so can your pre-arrangements. In fact, it is prudent to review your pre-arrangements every 5-10 years to ensure your plan still makes sense to you and your family.

No. When you pre-pay your own funeral, you have a contract between you and the funeral home. As such, you are the only one who can make changes.

The most important thing to remember if a death occurs while travelling is to contact the funeral home in your home town. They can advocate for you and alleviate much of the worry and confusion that can occur during this particularly stressful time. Also, you should check with your Funeral Home to see if they offer a Travel Assistance Plan. These plans are inexpensive and cover the costs to bring you home and handle all the necessary paperwork and legalities in the event of a death away from home.

Not necessarily. You should never purchase any kind of “funeral plan” before talking with someone from a licensed funeral home. Often, these types of mailers are offering a final expense insurance policy and are not a pre-paid funeral at all. A pre-paid funeral will always involve an itemized pre-paid contract with a licensed funeral establishment, signed by a licensed funeral director. If you are unsure if an establishment or representative is licensed, then you should ask to see the license.

It is important to deal only with a licensed funeral establishment to ensure that you have a pre-paid contract that qualifies under the Compensation Fund which exists to protect the consumer.

A pre-paid contract up to $15,000 with a licensed funeral establishment qualifies as an EFA (Eligible Funeral Amount) which ensures that all interest earned in the pre-paid fund grows tax exempt. A funeral service for $15,000 and a cemetery service for $20,000 or a combined total of $35,00 qualifies for an EFA.

You can choose to have a family member, friend or third party professional handle the settlement of your estate. There are many options available: from a professional handling everything to ease the burden on your family and friends, to co-executor services where the estate settlement is handled by both a family member/friend and a professional.

An executor’s duties vary depending on the complexity of the estate. Some duties include: locating, reading and interpreting the will, gathering the estate’s assets (financial, insurance, pensions) and administering the estate (close out accounts, locate missing beneficiaries, distribution of personal effects, etc…). Your local funeral professional will be able to provide you with a planning guide and booklets to help you get organized.

Executors have the right to seek assistance and still retain their decision-making authority. An executor can get help from trust companies, lawyers and accountants.

Yes. Having a legal will makes things easier for your family. A legal will not only outlines how your assets are to be distributed, it also states who is responsible (your executor). Not having a will or having a poorly drawn will can place unnecessary stress on your family and will make simple tasks (like closing bank accounts) much more difficult.

In Canada there are four types of legal Wills.

• Formal Will is drawn up by a lawyer or notary and signed according to the requirements of provincial law.
• Holograph Will is a handwritten Will that is signed by the maker but does not have to be witnessed. (Not valid in all provinces and not recommended).
• International Will is drafted and signed according to set standards agreed to by certain jurisdictions who have signed an international convention regarding Wills. (Not valid in all provinces).
• Quebec notary Will that is drawn up by a notary.