Using a funeral director isn't strictly essential. There is no law saying you need to use one. There's nothing to say you have to take out prepaid funeral plans to cover the funeral director's costs. However, lots of things you will read will tell you why a prepaid funeral plan is the best way of covering these costs, but not necessary why they need to be paid for in the first place.   Rather than your death leaving a huge financial burden for your friends and family, it's entirely possible to prepare in advance and take some of that burden away before your family even have to consider it.   But if you've never had to plan a funeral for anyone in the past, you might not really know about the role which funeral directors play, and why this is important.  Is it worth taking out a prepaid funeral plan?   To answer that question you'll need to think about whether or not you need a funeral director, and what their role is.   Funeral homes have a lot of different responsibilities, and these can start from when the death is registered and carry on until the funeral service is complete. Before the funeral itself, a funeral director is where you go to take out prepaid funeral plans and lock the costs of the funeral at the price of the day. As these tend to rise substantially year on year, that alone can be enough to persuade people to take one out.   However a funeral plan pays the director's fees, but other elements which are out of their control might not be covered. For instance, the burial or cremation in and of itself will not be paid for within this price. What you pay for then, is a service. The director is the best person to move the body from the hospital or place of death to where it will rest until the funeral itself. Usually this will be their funeral home, but in some cases it may be the family home.   If you're unsure about any of the processes or legislation surrounding death, you can talk to the funeral directors as they are experts in their particular area. They will also be able to conduct other elements of funeral business which isn't directly controlled by them. These extra costs can sometimes be contributed towards as part of the plan, but anything which isn't covered will need to be paid for at the time. These costs which aren't manageable are known as disbursements. They include everything from the cremation to flowers and death notices.   Prepaid funeral plans are by far the best way to pay for a funeral director's fees, so if you decide you need a funeral director, the next logical step is to look at plans. l.