Why Should You Plan Ahead

Pre-planning ensures that your wishes for your funeral service are precisely followed. It also allows your family to be free of the burden of making emotionally difficult decisions at a time when emotions run high, often clouding their thinking.

Why Pre-Plan?

While it’s true that pre-planning with us assures that your final wishes are known and relieves your family of the burden of making difficult decisions under emotional duress, there’s a more important reason to pre-plan with us.

We understand just how hard it can be to face the reality of your passing and to make the required decisions. We hear it time and again; people just don’t expect pre-planning to be an emotional experience. Yet it is.

That’s why we here at Houghtaling & Smith Funeral Home and Gray-Houghtaling & Smith Funeral Home don’t want you to go through it alone. We offer an online planning tool, it’s true; but we know that it helps to have our presence during the planning process to advise, discuss, compare services and products, and emotionally support you in making these decisions.

When you’re ready, call us at (518) 673-2233 or (518) 993-3361, to make an appointment with a funeral director. They will be honored to serve as your pre-planning companion. Please contact us by clicking on the link below.

It’s All About Taking Control

Given time to consider it, you’ll quickly realize that pre-planning is all about ensuring that your wishes are known, so they can be acted upon when the time comes. Making the commitment to planning ahead:

Is easy. There’s no health questionnaire or physical exam required. Absolutely everyone can make a pre-plan, and there is no waiting for return documents. The plan is completed, and put on file in our office.
Lets your family clearly know your wishes.
Relieves your family members of making very personal decisions on your behalf at the time of need.
Can protect your family from the ravages of inflation. Your expenses can be covered when you need them to be through a pre-payment plan.

Taking the Next Step: Pre-Funding Your Plan

We can help you to cover your anticipated funeral expenses by establishing a trust agreement at your bank. This will keep your family safe from an additional financial burden when they are already carrying an often devastating emotional burden.

Any family who funds prearrangements will be assisted in opening funeral trust agreements with the financial institution of their own choice. Houghtaling & Smith Funeral Home and Gray-Houghtaling & Smith Funeral Home charge no service fees for helping the family to prefund a funeral.

You are guaranteed safety, security and honesty in any prefunded arrangements made with Houghtaling & Smith, and Gray-Houghtaling & Smith funeral homes.

Ready to get started?

Our staff would be honored to talk with you. Please call us at (518) 673-2233 or (518) 993-3361 to make arrangements in person with one of our caring, professional funeral directors, Bill Smith or Chris Hanley. Please contact us by clicking on the link below.

With online arrangements, you can take your time selecting the arrangements which are best for you. For assistance in completing this online planning process, please contact us by calling (518) 673-2233 or (518) 993-3361.

Begin Online Process