1711 18th Street Lewiston, ID 83501 | Phone: (208) 743-4578 | Contact Us
Why Pre-Plan?
Click here to fill out your pre-planning form
Thinking about our own death is not a particularly pleasant experience depending upon your philosophy on life. To the degree that we take care of our personal responsibilities, we like to have our affairs in order; this is motivation enough for some people to pre-plan their own funeral.
If you leave behind directions for your survivors about your funeral preference, and further if you pay or set aside funds for these directions, your decisions take precedence over any other person's wishes regarding your funeral plans. Personal plans come first, then the power to make funeral decisions is passed down to a person designated in a will, or a durable power of attorney for medical care appointed by you to make these decisions. The rights then devolve to the surviving spouse, the adult children, the parents, or a person appointed by the courts - in that order.
In any case, we try to be good communicators and help our survivors do the right thing. Funeral gatherings are for the living, and as much as we hate to leave folks behind, this happens to everyone someday and we hope our kin and community will remember us fondly.
Pre-Planning Funerals Can Save You and Your Family Money
By making decisions today and purchasing some things that you are able to purchase (grave, headstone) and setting aside money for the other expenses, Malcom's Brower-Wann Funeral Home will guarantee that the money will always be enough to pay for those funeral wishes in the future. The money is placed in a trust account or annuity where it gains interest. The law allows this money to be used to offset future inflation. The funeral home keeps the interest for guaranteeing the funeral plan.
In order to qualify for Medicaid, you may need to reduce your assets. Money set aside in a qualified irrevocable funeral plan is not counted as an asset, it is sheltered.
The information provided in this website is not intended to replace a meeting with one of our licensed funeral directors. We always promise to not pressure you in any way. We want to help you make the decisions that are right for you and your family, when it is right for you.
Tell Your Story
It may be helpful to write out your life story. It is certainly a blessing to your family. This does not have to be the obituary for the newspaper, but a little longer version of your life.
What happened?
What did you do?
What are your favorite memories?
What would you like to be remembered for?
Who were the key people in your story?
What have you experienced at funerals that you liked/appreciated?
What didn't you like?
Using these memories and experiences may help you shape a memorial service or funeral to fit your individual needs. Generally, when we discuss funeral arrangements, we need to know the following:
FUNERAL DECISIONS
Do you wish to have a viewing before or after a gathering or a visitation period at the funeral home or elsewhere? This usually requires embalming and other preparation of the deceased. There can be a time period before any services where people stop by to pay their respects.
Do you prefer earth burial or cremation as what we call final disposition? There are a few other options, which we can discuss, but these two are the most common. If you prefer earth burial, where do you want to be buried? If you prefer cremation, what is to be done with your cremated remains?
Do you wish to have some sort of gathering for a remembrance service? This can have as much emphasis on religion as is appropriate to you. In some cases, people feel the religious rites or ceremonies are important to conduct. Or there can be more emphasis on the person's life and their family.
Who would you like to lead or conduct the service? Religious leaders (ministers, clergy, etc.) are commonly chosen to officiate, but you may even find that a family member or a Certified Funeral Celebrant is a better choice to remember and celebrate your life. You may wish others to play some part in the proceedings, if they are able (read a poem, eulogy, etc.). We encourage family members to have their say if they are so inclined.
Would you prefer to select certain music for the service? You may wish to choose music that is significant to you and your life, and these songs can be played as part of the service.
What are your ideas about service personalization? You may choose to have the funeral home produce a slideshow of your life using snapshots gathered from your walls and scrapbooks. We have a state-of-the-art video projection and sound system for this very special personalization option. After we scan the original pictures, we make a DVD to play and for your family to keep. Perhaps you would like to have some personal items displayed during the service. Having an original oil painting, a hand-made quilt, a knitted afghan, or hobby items such as fishing poles displayed can really customize your life tribute ceremony.
Malcom's Brower-Wann Funeral Home tries to offer, as much as possible, the services and merchandise people may want for funeral services. We have a fine floral shop in-house, and we represent a line of grave markers that is very competitively priced and extremely well produced. We design and print memorial folders and other customized stationery goods. We have a wide variety of caskets and urns and we have the ability to customize any of the above.
Other preferences that you may have are limited only by your imagination and desires. We have had a horse-drawn carriage to the cemetery and the Old Time Fiddlers rocking out in the chapel, or one of the other fine musicians from the area.
We encourage you to discuss this with your family and give us a call when you are ready to speak with one of our friendly staff. We will help any way we can. Again, we promise that there will never be any pressure to make a purchase. Our goal is to help you become aware of your options and benefits, then help you make the decisions that are right for you.
FUNERAL BENEFITS
The Social Security Administration will pay a one-time death benefit of $255 when there is a surviving spouse.
We normally send the Social Security office a SSA-721 or Statement of Death by the Funeral Director with a photocopy of the death certificate.
The Bureau of Veterans Affairs offers benefits for all honorably discharged veterans:
- A flag for ceremonial purposes which the family keeps
- A headstone to be placed on an unmarked grave or niche
- Military honors to accompany funeral proceedings, if given sufficient lead time
- Most honorably discharged veterans qualify for burial in a national or state veterans cemetery
- If the veteran has an active file with the VA, they may be eligible to receive a cash benefit for funeral and burial expenses. If it was established that the veteran's death was service connected, there is a larger death benefit. Active Duty death is handled by the Department of Defense.
See our Military Benefits page for more information
Insurance, Annuities or Other Savings may be assigned or dedicated to funeral expenses and/or connected to a pre-arranged funeral plan.
Unions, Fraternal Organizations, or Bank Accounts may have a death benefit connected to membership or an account.
RECORD YOUR DECISIONS
Click here to fill out your pre-planning form
This link opens a page you may fill in and print for your files and to discuss with your family members. Please Call Malcom's Brower-Wann Funeral Home should you have any questions or wish to discuss your options.
Call (208) 743-4578
Or stop by at 1711 - 18th Street in Lewiston
We always have hot coffee or a cold soda.
