Funeral Plans
We are pleased to be able to offer The Independent Way Funeral Plans
Tailor Made Plans in association with Golden Charter.
Nearly a million people in Great Britain have taken out a funeral plan. Usually, they have known the grief of bereavement and don’t want their families to go through the stress of making arrangements. Many have established a relationship of trust with their local family funeral director. Who better to advise them on such a sensitive topic and assist them with all the details?
We believe that the Independent Way funeral plan, which is available only through independent funeral directors such as ourselves, offers you significant advantages over other plans.
With the Independent Way plan, we will make sure that your loved ones will be spared much of the burden of organising a funeral. You’ll have specified every detail in advance and taken care of all the costs that are within our control.
A guarantee that covers all our services
No matter how much our services may rise in cost in years to come, once your plan is fully in place, neither you nor your loved ones will be asked for a penny more for them. It’s a guarantee that gives you peace of mind. You can be assured that your family will be spared what could be a financial worry.
There are some costs that we are obliged to pay on your behalf. These third party costs include the charges of cemeteries and crematoria, as well as the fees of clergy or officiants and the costs of newspaper notices and memorials. The amount of this expenditure is not within our control and may require a further payment at the time of need.
A sound financial decision
When you take out an Independent Way plan, you have the reassurance that your money is protected. You select how you wish to pay for your plan and, depending on your choice; your money is paid into the Golden Charter Trust.
Your money grows and, when the time comes, we receive the payment, including any growth, and use this money to provide the agreed services to your family. No matter how much costs have risen in the intervening period, your loved ones will not be asked for a penny more for the guaranteed funeral director’s services included within your plan.
Funeral directors’ services typically include:
Professional charges. These represent a high proportion of a funeral director’s costs and include making all arrangements for cremation or burial
Conveyance of the deceased from the place of death to the funeral director’s premises, a chapel of rest or other suitable location
Caring for the deceased and attending to the hygienic preparation necessary to allow viewing, if requested by family or friends
Advice on the certification and registration of death and related documentation
Provision of a hearse and other funeral vehicles
Advice on bereavement counselling
A balanced approach to third party costs
As stated previously, third party costs are not within our financial control. These expenses include the fees for the cemetery, crematorium and clergy or officiant, which will be costed at today’s prices in your plan.
Third party costs may include:
Crematorium fee
Clergy/officiant’s fee
Purchase of a grave or lair
Cemetery fee: the opening of an existing or new grave for burial or interment of cremated remains
Hire of church or other venue
Fees of organist or soloist
Memorial, such as a headstone, entry in a book of remembrance or planting of a tree
Catering, floral tributes and newspaper announcements
Endorsed by leading bodies of the funeral profession
The Independent Way is recommended by the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors.
Golden Charter is the only funeral plan provider recommended by the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF), which was established in 1989 to serve the interests and needs of independent funeral directors nationwide.
Golden Charter has been accepted as a ‘Registered Provider’ by the Funeral Planning Authority.
The Funeral Planning Authority was created in response to Government legislation protecting money paid by consumers for funeral plans.
Customers purchasing a plan from a Registered Provider have the reassurance that they are dealing with one of the most reputable companies in the industry, one which maintains high standards and protects its planholders’ funds.
If you would like more information or to request a brochure please telephone us on 01869 208000 or fill out our contact form. You can also visit our funeral homes in Bicester, Marston and Headington.