Pre-paid funeral arrangements insurance
Asked by an anonymous Tumblr user.
The Federal Trade Commission offers this advice on prepaying for funeral arrangements:
Millions of Americans have entered into contracts to prearrange their funerals and prepay some or all of the expenses involved. Laws of individual states govern the prepayment of funeral goods and services; various states have laws to help ensure that these advance payments are available to pay for the funeral products and services when they’re needed. But protections vary widely from state to state, and some state laws offer little or no effective protection. Some state laws require the funeral home or cemetery to place a percentage of the prepayment in a state-regulated trust or to purchase a life insurance policy with the death benefits assigned to the funeral home or cemetery.
If you’re thinking about prepaying for funeral goods and services, it’s important to consider these issues before putting down any money:
- What happens to the money you’ve prepaid? States have different requirements for handling funds paid for prearranged funeral services.
- What happens to the interest income on money that is prepaid and put into a trust account?
- Are you protected if the firm you dealt with goes out of business?
- Can you cancel the contract and get a full refund if you change your mind?
- What happens if you move to a different area or die while away from home? Some prepaid funeral plans can be transferred, but often at an added cost.
Be sure to tell your family about the plans you’ve made; let them know where the documents are filed. If your family isn’t aware that you’ve made plans, your wishes may not be carried out. And if family members don’t know that you’ve prepaid the funeral costs, they could end up paying for the same arrangements. You may wish to consult an attorney on the best way to ensure that your wishes are followed.
Learn more about funeral arrangements.
Where can I locate the stats relative to number of welfare recipients per US Cities between 2002 - 2012? Where can I locate the data that compares the number of unemployment recipients per US City between 2002 - 2012?
Asked by an anonymous Tumblr user.
There are a number of places where you can find government data and statistics:
- USA.gov - Our page points you to commonly requested data sets and statistics.
- Data.gov - This comprehensive data site compiles data sets, charts, maps, and more. You can download raw data or play with interactive data sets.
- American FactFinder - This tool combines a variety of population, housing, economic, and geographic information that you can search many different ways.
In reference to the specific question, you can find the number of people who receive welfare, called cash public assistance, using the American FactFinder. From there you can narrow it to specific urban areas or by other geographies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment statistics, including for large metropolitan areas.
If you’re having a hard time locating the correct statistics, you can always ask a government information librarian for help. Government information librarians are experts at finding information from government agencies of all levels (local, state, regional, national international) on almost any subject.
Is there Hurricane Sandy relief for people outside the storm zone? For instance, I work remotely for a company in New Jersey whose offices were damaged by the storm. As a result, my paychecks have been stalled for a couple of weeks. I was told today there’s no timeline for when paychecks may start flowing again, due to power losses, Internet problems, etc. Is there any relief for a person like me? Bills are coming due. Paychecks are not coming.
If the company you work for is a small business, make sure they know that there are loans available to businesses in disaster areas.
You can also check to see if you qualify for disaster assistance.
Regarding your upcoming bills, be sure to communicate your situation to the companies you owe money to as soon as possible. Don’t wait for bills to be late. Companies may appreciate it if you can only pay a portion of the bill. A letter from your employer explaining the situation could possibly be of use.
BLM and what they are doing to our wild horses.
Asked by an anonymous Tumblr user.
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) protects, manages, and controls wild horses and burros under the authority of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. The Act declares wild horses and burros to be “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.”
BLM protects the health and welfare of the wild horse and burro population and makes sure it is consistent with the land’s capacity to support them. They also offer an adoption program and have other ways for volunteers to get involved.
Learn more about the National Wild Horse and Burro Program.
