August 2019

Page A6 AUGUST 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A Custom Statues Life Size Bronze or Marble Presentation of Jesus Contact: Gregory Cave caveco33@aol.com 1-800-989-2283 www.caveco.us Delivery in 120 Days to the Temple Church Upper Saddle River, NJ Prices Start as low as $8,000 By Christopher Kuhnen There’s More To It... Advance Funeral Planning www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. Blogs Christopher Kuhnen has been actively engaged in funeral service for over 32 years. He is best known as an industry go-getter, a cap- tivating professional and progressive leader. As an insider into excel- lence, he is a trusty advisor to numerous funeral home and industry professionals. Kuhnen provides regular comprehensive consultation and support and additionally trains and bolsters leading death care professionals concerning profitability, management, pre-need sales and marketing, family service follow-up, and much more. Over the course of his celebrated career, he has directly con- tributed to the success of many award-winning funeral homes, pre-need sales and marketing organizations, as well as an ac- claimed pre-need insurance company. Kuhnen is a Kentucky Licensed Funeral Director, Life Insurance Agent, and member in good standing with the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky. Additionally, he is a Certified Marketing Specialist, as bestowed by the National Marketing Academy and a Certified Funeral Celebrant as bestowed by the distinguished Insight Institute. Chris can be reached at (859) 307-7223 or cpkuhnen@gmail.com. There’s a New Player Vying for Your Families Pre-Need Premium Dollars Among veteran pre-need professionals there is an unspo- ken understanding that when helping families set up pay- ment plans for their funeral prearrangements, make abso- lutely sure they don’t over-extend themselves financially. If the next time you meet with a prearrangement fam- ily, after reviewing all their payment plan options, they in- dicate they can afford $75 per month for a ten-year pay- ment, but it might be a “little tight”, then listen to what they are really trying to communicate. If money is a “little tight” for them at $75.00, they are most likely a few months away from cancelling their plan or letting it lapse for non-payment. Why? Because paying for anything else they believe is more urgent than your fu- neral payment premium takes precedence. When funds become “tight” in a household, the first things they are allocated toward include: groceries, rent, alcohol and/or tobacco products, gas and car maintenance, or even lot- tery tickets (never know when you might hit the jack- pot!). What the family considers their day to day necessi- ties, which differs for each family, always take precedence. Whatever money remains then gets spent on things like paying their funeral plan premium. As inflation causes household expenses to rise, less and less money remains in family budgets. That’s why, as a pre-need sales profes- sional, you need to make sure families can easily afford your monthly payment plan. If $75 is tightly manageable, then $50 per month would be more easily manageable, and less likely to be cancelled or lapse. Today, something new enters the equation that is also vying for your funeral premium dollars. Americans ages 16-35 are seeing their expenses go up while their incomes stay the same. The result? The net worth of the average member in that age group has dropped 34% since 1996, according to a Deloitte report. The group’s average net worth is now below $8,000, putting today’s Millennials in a worse financial position than previous generations. The De- loitte study found this age group is paying more for educa- tion, food, transportation, and other basic needs but their in- comes are not increasing. Guess who assists them financially? According to a recent Bankrate.com survey of Baby Boom- ers (the Millennials’ parents), half of respondents said they’ve sacrificed their own retirement savings in order to help their grown children with finances. Baby Boomers helping their children financially doesn’t only apply to middle-class fami- lies. Bankrate.com found parents with higher incomes were more likely to sacrifice their retirement savings or reallocate money marked for other purposes to help their adult chil- dren. According to the findings, 6 out of 10 parents said they’ve jeopardized their own retirement savings to help their children with bills. When meeting with Baby Boomers to discuss payment options, take the time to ensure the payment amount being considered is comfortable for them. Do your best to discover what “other expenses” might creep into their monthly budgets that would cause strain. It doesn’t do the family (or you or the funeral home) any good for them to begin a payment plan only to cancel it later be- cause they over-extended themselves financially at the beginning. Make sure they are comfortable with (and can afford) the payment plan amount you agree to. Take into consideration Millennial children may be in the picture vying for the same premium dollars you are seek- ing. Ensure the family, the children, and you can all be properly taken care of. StoneMor Partners L.P. Announces Recapitalization Transactions; Andrew Axelrod Named New Chairman of the Board TREVOSE,PA— StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE: STON) announced that it has closed a $447.5 million recapi- talization transaction. The net pro- ceeds have in part been used to fully repay the Partnership’s outstanding senior notes due in June 2021 and re- tire the Partnership’s revolving cred- it facility due in May 2020. Imme- diately prior to and as a condition precedent to these transactions, the Board of Directors of StoneMor GP LLC was reconstituted to comprise seven members, three of whom have been designated by Axar Capital Management LP . Andrew Axel- rod , the founder and managing part- ner of Axar, has been named Chair- man of the Board of Directors. Joe Redling , StoneMor’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are excited to announce this transfor- mative transaction. The recapitaliza- tion of our balance sheet resets the financial footing of StoneMor and po- sitions us to execute our business strat- egy. We believe this debt refinancing demonstrates both strong underlying values of our asset base, as well as con- fidence in the Company’s ability to ex- ecute its turnaround plan.” StoneMor Partners L.P., headquar- tered in Trevose, is an owner and operator of cemeteries and funeral homes in the United States, with 322 cemeteries and 91 funeral homes in 27 states and Puerto Rico. For ad- ditional information, please visit http://www.stonemor.com.