Funeral Preplanning doesn’t have to be sad or difficult. Leave your loving legacy by having your affairs and estate in order while you can. Give you and your loves ones peace of mind.
Why preplan with Kat?
Katherine Downey is the #1 Funeral Preplanning Professional in Canada for the fourth time. She is a professional educator, author, licensed funeral director and insurance advisor. To set an appointment or have your questions answered, please contact Kat directly.
Services
Do you need assistance with:
- Application for Death Benefit?
- CPP Survivor’s Pension?
- CPP Children’s Benefits?
- Life Insurance Claims Package?
- Survivor’s Pension Claims Package?
I am a Licensed Funeral Director in Ontario, Canada and can assist you and your family with every aspect of funeral pre-planning. From memorial services, monuments, and cemetery needs, to insurance claims, obituaries, and catering services.
I have also recently completed the Certified Executor Advisor course with the Canadian Institute of Certified Executor Advisors and am the first licensed Funeral Director in Ontario to receive this designation. This designation allows me to help guide executors through the process of handling the estate.
Safe Return Assistance Plan
If you’re a traveler or even a commuter, think about the safe return assistance plan.
This one time insurance purchase covers all costs associated with bringing home a loved one who dies 100 km (60 miles) or more from their legal residence in North America. A fabulous product.
Taking Care of Business – Executor’s Workbook
This comprehensive workbook was designed to help you through the process of funeral preplanning, choosing an Executor, and preparing the information about your estate for your Executor. It’s what I call “Taking Care of Business” for your family and friends. But perhaps you’ll recognize it as a way of answering the question that people know they need to deal with but they avoid as long as possible… you know the one… “Are your affairs in order?”
Testimonials
I can attest to the value of pre-planning. My Mom died a few weeks ago at home and thankfully we pre-planned everything with Kat just a week before. After she passed, one simple phone call was all that was needed. We were mentally and physically exhausted at that point. What a sense of peace for my Dad and our family.
We have everything pre-arranged for my Dad’s passing now too.
Thank you Kat for the important work you do.
Must say, my friend, how kind you were when I lost Jim….. you made a difference in my journey….. thanks for reaching out when I truly needed it! Thank you for organizing my funeral arrangements. I am now glad this is completed and now paid for, and my children know my wishes. It makes less worry for all of us…. Thank you for gently advising me, when life was dark and made no sense!
Kat is a delight. She has a good sense of humour and is informative. She provided good reading materials, is always available, approachable and was sensitive to our needs.
After going through what I went through with my Mom I am so glad that I have this all taken care of. Not that it was a disaster but just as a family member to sit and have to go through all that is horrible. I have mine done and I am telling you the best thing ever.
After attending Kat’s seminar, I came away with a much clearer picture of the importance of being properly prepared and capable of dealing with all of the legal issues surrounding the death of a loved one. I plan to share what I learned with my parents and siblings.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the time spent going over the documents that are necessary for me to complete upon my husband’s death. Everything went smoothly and I am almost done. Your work made my life much easier at this stressful time.
Again, thank you.
On behalf of Debbie and myself, I want to thank you for our appointment this morning. As usual, we got the changes made to my plan and finally got Debbie to provide her wishes for her funeral. It always feels like a big burden has been lifted off our back by making our own arrangements. We just feel better knowing our funerals are arranged and paid for.
Our Blog
Are You Leaving Your Estate in Chaos?
When asked if there is a company pension benefit that continues for their mom, the deer in the headlights look comes over their face and they say “I don’t know.” Similarly, when asked if their dad had personal life insurance or if the mortgage was insured, there is a uniformly vague answer, “I don’t know, Dad never talked about that kind of stuff.”
Will You Die Intestate?
This situation although very sad, could have been made easier for the young men if their mother had even drafted a holographic will. This is a document written entirely in your handwriting; that outlines what you have, where it is and what you would like done with your assets.
Where there is a will, there is a win – win for life’s no-win situation. None of us get out alive and death is a given for all of us. Take a few moments to draft a will. Consider 3 what-if scenarios.
Settling Foreign Property in an Estate
Well you know how it goes, there are things to see, things to do, other family members to visit and well …………, I never did get the specific information or locations of the property dad owned. Now that he has died, I need to deal with selling this property and honestly, I do not even know where it is. My other family members in Portugal are not sure either. Oh I wish I had listened and paid more attention to what my dad wanted to share with me.”
