At S. Stibbards & Sons Ltd, we work in partnership with Golden Charter to provide you with a simple way to plan ahead. As one of the UK’s largest funeral plan providers*, Golden Charter has helped 900,000 people to plan ahead** so we’re completely confident in offering their plans to you.
Everyone has different needs when it comes to funeral planning, so we make sure the plans we offer are as flexible as possible. When you get in touch, we’ll be happy to discuss your funeral requirements and tailor a plan to suit you. Rest assured a plan from Golden Charter is available to all UK residents regardless of age or state of health.
*Based on a Golden Charter analysis and independent research of the funeral plan market size as at January 2023.
**Correct at March 2023.
What’s included in a pre-paid funeral plan?
Our funeral director’s services will be covered in your funeral plan, which means our fees will be fixed at today’s prices and protected against rising costs. These services typically include:
- Professional services and making arrangements for the funeral
- Transportation of the deceased from the place of death to our premises, chapel of rest or other suitable location
- Care of the deceased and preparations for family viewing if requested
- Advice on the certification and registration of death and related documentation
- Provision of funeral vehicles
- Advice on bereavement counselling
- Coffin or casket requested
Although a pre-paid funeral plan can cover all of the services above, there are some additional third party costs to consider. These are the costs for essential, non-funeral director services required to carry out a cremation or burial which need to be paid at the time of the funeral. These costs are outside our control. Depending on the plan type chosen, a Golden Charter funeral plan can include a contribution towards some third party costs. They may include:
- Crematorium fee
- Minister or officiant’s fee
- Cemetery fee: the opening of a new or existing grave for burial or interment of cremated remains
Other third party costs that may be associated with a funeral include:
- Purchase of grave or lair
- Hire of church or other venue
- Fees or organist or soloist
- Memorial, such as a headstone, entry in a book of remembrance, or the planting of a tree
- Catering, floral tributes and newspaper announcements
There will only be more to pay at the time of the funeral if the third party costs exceed the allowance when you buy your plan, or if the costs increase by more than the growth of your plan. Even if prices rise in the future, once your plan is paid for, you’ll have the reassurance of knowing there’ll be nothing more to pay for our services included in the plan – guaranteed.
