You can pre-pay your funeral expenses in a lump sum, or by an initial lump sum of $3,000 followed by regular monthly payments. Either way, the funds go into a Funeral Trust set up for you alone and administered by Guardian Trust. Guardian Trust is a statutory Trustee company that operates under its own Act of Parliament.

Funds are afforded the protection of a special trust deed. At the time of making an application to set up a funeral pre-payment arrangement, you nominate a figure, commensurate with the type of funeral service you envisage for yourself. To help arrive at this figure, see our online guide to the costs involved.

You commit to pay the whole amount in a lump sum or by an initial lump sum plus monthly instalments of $100 thereafter until your target contribution is reached. Guardian Trust's investment arm invests the funds. Earnings from your investment are added to your account. Funds are not available until your death. At that time, the funds are applied to cover the cost of your funeral. Any shortfall is the responsibility of your estate. Any surplus then becomes part of your estate and is forwarded to your executor and thus to your beneficiaries.

You have the option to nominate a particular funeral director. You can talk to a funeral director in your area. You may record other wishes about funeral arrangements. The forms have provision for your notations. Or you can leave all those organisational matters completely open. Your family can decide funeral arrangements and the trustees will pay the accumulation to your funeral director.