Author: Mehgyn Bowen

Programs & Procedures

PrePlan Offers Options for Death Certificate Submissions

When submitting death certificate claims, you have multiple options with PrePlan Funeral Trust. These options ensure our compliance on multiple levels and prompt payment to your firm. You may use the option(s) that work best for your firm.

Electronic Submission:

Call or email PrePlan (preplan@preplan.org) to request that a secure (NeoCertified) email containing our General Administration form be sent.
Complete the General Administration form, review the indemnification, check box and sign to agree.
Attach/upload the completed General Administration form along with a copy of the Certified Death Certificate to the secure email. Please provide the Burial Permit if available.
Email the claim to PrePlan through the secure email.

Mail Submission:

Complete our General Administration form, review the indemnification, check box and sign to agree. Enclose a copy of the Certified Death Certificate and burial permit (if available) and mail to PrePlan.

-Or-

Complete our General Administration form, review the indemnification, check box and sign to agree. Enclose a Certified Death Certificate with an official seal and burial permit (if available) and mail to PrePlan. PrePlan will continue to return Certified Death Certificates with an official seal along with the payment or the firm’s weekly direct deposit report.

You can find the General Administration form here.

PrePlan maintains a same-day processing policy in place for death claims received Monday-Friday by 11:30am (excluding US holidays, and the first business day of each month). Please be advised that if the account has a pending payment, we are required to hold the death claim in a pending status until the recent payment clears (10 days).

Feel free to contact our office with any questions or concerns 800.577.3752. Thank you for your continued trust.

Programs & Procedures

PrePlan Follows Same-Day Processing Policy

Did you know PrePlan Funeral Trust has a same-day processing policy in place for death claims received Monday-Friday by 11:30am (excluding US holidays, and the first business day of each month). Please be advised that if the account has a pending payment, we are required to hold the death claim in a pending status until the recent payment clears (10 days).

Feel free to contact our office with any questions or concerns 800.577.3752. Thank you for your continued trust.

Programs & Procedures

PrePlan Offers a Direct Deposit Option*

Receive your payments sooner with PrePlan’s direct deposit option. PrePlan Funeral Trust is proud to offer secure deposit of your firm’s death claim payments directly into your bank account. You’ll have access by the next business day! It’s safe, accurate, and fast. Complete this form and get started today.

Already enjoying direct deposit? If you have any bank/account updates, please be sure to let PrePlan know so that you continue to receive payments in a timely manner.

Feel free to contact our office with any questions or concerns at preplan@preplan.org or 800.577.3752. Thank you for your continued trust.

*Must be an active PrePlan participating NYSFDA member firm.

Programs & Procedures

Credit Card Payments are an Option with PrePlan

Through our partnership with NYSFDA Member Advantage Partner Chosen Payments, PrePlan Funeral Trust participating funeral firms now can accept credit cards* for new and additional deposits on existing accounts. This program provides more options and greater flexibility for you and your consumers.

To get started, simply log in to your PrePlan Funeral Home account. We’ve also created resources to assist you with this new process.

PDF outlining the instructions step-by-step.

Tutorial Video stepping you through the entire process.

We encourage you to watch the Tutorial and download the instructions and contact our office with any questions or concerns at preplan@preplan.org or 800.577.3752.

PrePlan is committed to offering solutions to optimize operations and increase participant convenience, while keeping the security of funds and compliance with trust laws as our continued top priority. Thank you for your membership and confidence. We look forward to serving you.

*The convenience fee will be automatically passed along to the consumer.

Programs & Procedures

PrePlan Partners with DocuSign to Offer Electronic Signature Option

PrePlan Funeral Trust has established a relationship with DocuSign*, allowing your consumers to prearrange from anywhere, any time.

Why DocuSign? Through extensive research, we learned that DocuSign’s core values greatly aligned with our own. Their mission is to “accelerate business and simplify life for companies and people around the world” and make it a priority to ensure a safe and secure experience for customers and their consumers (aka you and your families). Like PrePlan, DocuSign meets or exceeds stringent US, EU and global security standards and are committed to protecting customer data.

In addition to their commitment to safety and security, their intuitive electronic signature solution cannot be beat.

Convenient: Sign and agree virtually anywhere, anytime.
Simple: Ease of use with one-click simplicity.
Fast: Reduce time to sign dramatically.
Safe: Your information is private and protected. Always.

As we begin this program, each active participating PrePlan firm will receive one primary DocuSign account. Bonus: in addition to PrePlan documents, participating firms will have the ability to use this service in all areas of the business. You also have free access to DocuSign’s comprehensive resource library and easy-to-use tutorials.

To take advantage of this program, please complete a quick Authorization Form. Upon providing this information to PrePlan, you will receive account information directly from DocuSign.

Please contact our office with any questions: 800.577.3752 or preplan@preplan.org.

* No fee to active PrePlan participating NYSFDA member firms.

Programs & Procedures

Convenient. Compliant. Competitive.

Working with PrePlan Funeral Trust is accessible, easy, and safe, thanks to updated resources, operational enhancements, and a continued commitment to safety and security.

PrePlan proudly offers the following programs and procedures:

PrePlan Offers Options for Death Certificate Submissions

PrePlan Follows Same-Day Processing Policy

PrePlan Offers a Direct Deposit Option

Credit Card Payments are an Option with PrePlan

PrePlan Partners with DocuSign to Offer Electronic Signature Option

Each of these programs and procedures is available to active PrePlan participating NYSFDA member firms. Become a PrePlan firm today! Whether opening new or transferring existing accounts, PrePlan is ready to step you through the process. Contact us at preplan@preplan.org or 800.577.3752 to learn how.

Tax Statement Information

Pleased be advised:

PrePlan cannot provide any tax statement information over the phone.

If you have moved, please be sure that the funeral home you have made prearrangements with has your current address.

Year-end tax statements will be mailed out between January 25 through the 31st of this year and will be available online after January 31st. To access this information please click on the “Consumer” tab above. You will need:

The PrePlan account number
Last four (4) digits of the Purchaser’s Social Security Number
Purchaser’s last name

Once logged in, you may download and print copies of your Tax Statement(s) for the last three years.

If you have any questions, please contact the funeral home you have made your prearrangements with. They will be happy to assist you.

Q&A Grantor Trust Tax Information Statements

Q: The consumer lost their tax statement. Can I have another copy mailed to them?
A: Yes. The funeral home may call or e-mail a PrePlan administrator and we will mail out a second copy. The Funeral Home or consumer may also log-in above to download the tax statement. Click here for step-by-step instructions.

Q: What are the fiduciary and advisory fees listed on the preneed agreement for?
A: As with any trust in New York State, Preplan is permitted by law to expend up to three quarters of one percent of the balance in the fund to provide the necessary services to operate and staff the trust. This is one of the lowest fees in the nation. In addition, a minimal advisory fee is also paid for the expert investment advice given to Preplan for the direct benefit of its customers. These terms are fully disclosed in the preneed customer agreement provided to all consumers.

Tax Reporting Glossary

Beneficiary: The individual for whom funeral arrangements will eventually be performed.

Federal E.I.N: An Employer Identification Number is assigned to each account held in PrePlan and is used for reporting interest to the IRS.

Fiduciary Fees Paid: A minimal fee deducted from the gross interest amount to cover administration costs of the trust. This fee is fully disclosed in the PrePlan customer agreement.

Gross Taxable Interest: The total amount of interest earned on the trust account. This is the amount the consumer must report per the IRS.

Investment Advisory Fees Paid: A fee determined annually to pay for related professional investment advice. This fee is fully disclosed in the PrePlan customer agreement.

Net Interest Earned: The gross taxable interest earned less fiduciary and investment advisory fees paid; sum of all net interest figures on the summary statement.

Summary Statement: A statement generated annually summarizing all cash flow transactions on each account.

Taxpayer Social Security Number: The SS# of the individual responsible for reporting the interest earned on the trust account, as per the original trust agreement. This should always be the purchaser’s SS#.

Trust Tax Statement: The statement generated by PrePlan showing the gross interest income amount reported to the IRS.

Accessibility Statement

Updated: March 2022.

General
PrePlan Funeral Trust strives to ensure that its services are accessible to people with disabilities. PrePlan Funeral Trust
has invested a significant amount of resources to help ensure that its website is made easier to use and more accessible
for people with disabilities, with the strong belief that every person has the right to live with dignity, equality, comfort
and independence.

Accessibility on Preplan.org
Preplan.org makes available the UserWay Website Accessibility Widget that is powered by a dedicated accessibility
server. The software allows Preplan.org to improve its compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG 2.1).

Enabling the Accessibility Menu
The Preplan.org accessibility menu can be enabled either by hitting the tab key when the page first loads or by clicking
the accessibility menu icon that appears on the corner of the page. After triggering the accessibility menu, please wait a
moment for the accessibility menu to load in its entirety.

Disclaimer
PrePlan Funeral Trust continues its efforts to constantly improve the accessibility of its site and services in the belief
that it is our collective moral obligation to allow seamless, accessible and unhindered use also for those of us with
disabilities.

In an ongoing effort to continually improve and remediate accessibility issues, we also regularly scan Preplan.org with
UserWay’s Accessibility Scanner to identify and fix every possible accessibility barrier on our site.
Despite our efforts to make all pages and content on Preplan.org fully accessible, some content may not have yet been
fully adapted to the strictest accessibility standards. This may be a result of not having found or identified the most
appropriate technological solution.

Here For You
If you are experiencing difficulty with any content on Preplan.org or require assistance with any part of our site, please
contact us during normal business hours as detailed below and we will be happy to assist.

Contact Us
If you wish to report an accessibility issue, have any questions or need assistance, please contact PrePlan Funeral Trust

Customer Support as follows:
Email: preplan@preplan.org
Phone: 1.800.577.3752

Choosing a Funeral Home

Choosing a funeral director was simple in our grandparents’ day when there was usually just one funeral home in town.

In fact, it is not at all uncommon that a local funeral homeowner – or their relatives – have provided their important services to families in your community for the last several years and even generations.

Today, with our mobile society and family members living all over the country, along with many funeral service options available, selecting a funeral director may take some careful thought and planning.

However, choosing a funeral director is like engaging any other professional such as a lawyer or doctor and doesn’t have to be – nor should it be – a daunting task.

If your family does not already have a local funeral director, consult with your pastor or rabbi for recommendations. You may also consider asking your friends and neighbors. Have you attended a funeral that particularly stood out to you? Visit their funeral home website to learn more about their services and staff.

If you’re not familiar with the funeral homes in your area, you may wish to make an appointment to visit one or more of them. In this way, you can meet with the funeral director, tour their facilities, learn about the different options available to ensure you have a clear understanding of the costs for services and merchandise you may desire.

Find a NYSFDA member funeral homes in your area.

Privacy Policy

At PrePlan, your privacy is important to us. While obtaining necessary information is the cornerstone of our ability to offer excellent services, PrePlan recognizes that our most important asset is our customers’ trust. We are particularly concerned about the privacy of each individual customer who obtains financial products and services from us for prefunded funeral prearrangement purposes. This brochure provides you with our privacy policies and practices with respect to the disclosure of nonpublic information about you. For purposes of this Privacy Policy, the term “we” or “us” refers to the PrePlan Trust, New York State Funeral Directors Association, Funeral Director Support Services, Inc., and their officers, directors, trustees, and employees.

Information We May Collect:

In providing you with financial products or services, we may collect nonpublic personal information about you from the following sources:

Information we receive from you on preneed agreements, preneed itemization statements, subsequent information change requests, and other forms and correspondence necessary to maintain your preneed account with the PrePlan Trust program.
Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, and/or others.

Information We May Disclose and to Whom We May Disclose the Information:

We may disclose nonpublic personal information about you to our affiliates. These affiliates include the funeral home with whom you have established funeral prearrangements, state and federal tax agencies, and other members of our corporate family. We may disclose to our affiliates all of the categories of information we collect as described above. Except as stated herein, no information will be disclosed to nonaffiliated third parties. It is important to remember that we have no financial interest or ownership in any funeral home with which you may do business.

Our Security Practices:

We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to employees of the New York State Funeral Directors Association, employees of Funeral Director Support Services, Inc., document storage vendors, employees of the funeral firm with whom you have made funeral prearangements, and employees of state and federal tax agencies. Employees of the New York State Funeral Directors Association and Funeral Director Support Services, Inc., are trained in the importance of maintaining confidentiality and customer privacy. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations and leading industry practices to safeguard your nonpublic personal information.

Former Customer:

Even if you are no longer a PrePlan customer, our Privacy Policy will continue to apply to you with respect to any nonpublic personal information which we may have in our possession. This Privacy Policy applies to nonpublic personal information about individuals who obtain financial products or services primarily for personal, family or household purposes. We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy and any of the policies described above at any time. The examples contained within this Privacy Policy are illustrations only; they are not intended to be exclusive.

Nonpublic personal information means personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly available.