System and method of planning a funeral

• US 7,552,070 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2001
• Issued: 06/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Forethought Services LLC
• Original Assignee: Forethought Financial Services, Inc. (Global Atlantic Financial Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Myers, Rachel Elizabeth, Torres, Efrain, Salatin, Randall Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Garg; Yogesh C
• Application Number:
  US09/827,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20020004757A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,000 Days
• Field of Search: 705 26- 27, 705/50, 705/35, 705/37, 705/51, 705/1, 709/219, 345/760
• US Class Current: 705/7.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0621 Item configuration or customization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

An apparatus, computer-implemented method and program product to arrange and fund a funeral or other memorial service. A program receives user input requesting information associated with funeral products, services and homes. The program associates the user input with a budgetary, profile, home locator, or step-based parameter. Each parameter logically links to an information field stored within the database. A central web server retrieves information associated with the parameter for inclusion within a funeral plan.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for creating an online funeral plan, the method comprising:

generating a profile including a plurality of profile parameters, wherein the plurality of profile parameters are related to a personal funerary preference and a lifestyle of a decedent, and the lifestyle of the decedent is associated with a profession of the decedent;

generating a plurality of groupings of products and services each associated with a profile parameter of the plurality of profile parameters;

receiving user input associated with a grouping of products and services of the plurality of groupings of products and services to obtain requested pricing information on a product or service offered by a selected funeral service provider among a plurality of funeral service providers;

retrieving in response to the user input the requested pricing information by accessing a database storing pricing information associated with the grouping of products and services associated with the profile parameter and offered by the plurality of funeral service providers, wherein the grouping of products and services are preselected to complement each other and complete aspects of funeral planning, and to individually and collectively accord with the profile parameter that relates to the personal funerary preference and the lifestyle of the decedent, wherein each funeral service provider is associated with a distinct set of products and services from the plurality of products and services, and wherein the database maintains pricing information for the set of products and services associated with each funeral service provider;

steering generation of the funeral plan according to the profile parameter that relates to the personal funerary preference and the lifestyle of the decedent by prompting user selections from the grouping of products and services associated with the profile parameter;

outputting the requested pricing information to the user; and

wherein the generating the profile, generating the plurality of groupings, receiving user input, retrieving, steering, and outputting steps are implemented by executable software stored in a computer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a funeral service provider from the plurality of funeral service providers in response to the user input.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising selecting the funeral service provider from a plurality of funeral homes based on criteria chosen from the group consisting of:

location, services, products, capacity, pricing information, appearance and reputation.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving user input from the user to select a collection of products and services to include in the funeral plan.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the steering of the generation of the funeral plan further comprises personalizing aspects of the funeral plan to reflect a religious, professional, personal, or ethnic desire of a deceased in accordance with the user profile parameter and in response to user input.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing contact information of a family member, friend or associate of the user for notification of a decedent'"'"'s death.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising electronically storing the funeral plan for later retrieval.

8. The method or claim 1, further comprising modifying the funeral plan in response to user input.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising directing user input to a web site, and communicating the pricing information for a products or service to the user via the web site, wherein the pricing information is retrieved from the database.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the pricing of a product or service is guaranteed, the method further comprising initiating a display to the user of an electronic image or text representing terms of the guarantee.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising initiating the display of an image representative of the product or service to a user.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising scheduling a meeting with a death care professional in response to user input.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising initiating the display of contact information to the user enabling personal or electronic communication with the death care professional.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving an estimated cost from the database for a non-guaranteed item.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the non-guaranteed item is selected from the group consisting of:

a floral arrangement, musical performance, clergy, transportation and honorarium costs.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising initiating the display of a payment status of the funeral plan to the user.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the pricing information includes bids from at least a subset of the plurality of funeral service providers.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising relating an offer for the product or service from the user to at least a subset of the plurality of funeral service providers, wherein the offer includes a price range.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating and recommending to the user a complementary item from the plurality of products and services in response to the user selecting the product or service.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising initiating the display of educational information, counseling and Internet links related to the product or service.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising verifying the availability of the product or service from among the plurality of funeral service providers.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising encrypting user data and funeral plan information in conjunction with creating the funeral plan.

23. A program product, comprising:

a program configured upon execution to;

generate a profile including a plurality of profile parameters, wherein the plurality of profile parameters are related to a personal funerary preference and a lifestyle of a decedent, and the lifestyle of the decedent is associated with at least one of a profession of the decedent or a hobby of the decedent;

generate a plurality of groupings of products and services each associated with a profile parameter of the plurality of profile parameters;

receive user input associated with a grouping of products and services of the plurality of groupings of products and services to obtain requested pricing information on a product or service offered by a selected funeral service provider among a plurality of funeral service providers;

retrieve in response to the user input the requested pricing information by accessing a database storing pricing information associated with the grouping of products and services associated with the profile parameter and offered by the plurality of funeral service providers, wherein the grouping of products and services are preselected to complement each other and complete aspects of funeral planning, and to individually and collectively accord with the profile parameter that relates to the personal funerary preference and the lifestyle of the decedent, wherein each funeral service provider is associated with a distinct set of products and services from the plurality of products and services, and wherein the database maintains pricing information for the set of products and services associated with each funeral service provider;

steer generation of the funeral plan according to the profile parameter that relates to the personal funerary preference and the lifestyle of the decedent by prompting user selections from the grouping of products and services associated with the profile parameter; and

output the requested pricing information to the user; and

a recordable, computer-readable medium storing the program.

24. The program product of claim 23, wherein the medium is selected from among the group comprising a volatile memory device, a non-volatile memory device, a removable disk, a hard disk drive and an optical disk.

25. The program product of claim 23, wherein the medium resides on a hardware system of the user.

26. A computer-implemented method for creating an online funeral plan, the method comprising:

generating a plurality of budgetary parameters, wherein the plurality of budgetary parameters is indicative of at least one of an expectant budget for the plan, an income associated with a user, a geographic consideration, or an insurance consideration;

generating a plurality of groupings of products and services each associated with a budgetary parameter of the plurality of budgetary parameters, wherein each product and service in the groupings of the plurality of groupings of products and services is included because it meets or complements a budgetary criterion or requirement associated with the budgetary parameter;

receiving user input associated with a grouping of products and services of the plurality of products and services to obtain requested pricing information on a product and/or service offered by a selected funeral service provider among a plurality of funeral service providers;

retrieving in response to the user input the requested pricing information by accessing a database storing pricing information associated with the grouping of products and services associated with the budgetary parameter and offered by the plurality of funeral service providers, wherein the grouping of products and services are preselected to further complement each other and complete aspects of funeral planning, wherein each funeral service provider is associated with a distinct set of products and services from the plurality of groupings of products and services, and wherein the database maintains pricing information for the set of products and services associated with each funeral service provider;

steering generation of the funeral plan according to the budgetary parameter of the plurality of budgetary parameters by prompting user selections from the grouping of products and services associated with the budgetary parameter;

outputting the requested pricing information to the user; and

wherein the generating the plurality of budgetary parameters, generating the plurality of groupings, receiving user input, retrieving, steering and outputting steps are implemented by executable software stored in a computer.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising selecting a funeral service provider from the plurality of funeral service providers in response to the user input.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising selecting the funeral service provider from a plurality of funeral homes based on criteria chosen from the group consisting of:

location, services, products, capacity, pricing information, appearance and reputation.

29. The method of claim 26, further comprising processing funding of the funeral plan using a payment method selected from the group consisting of:

an electronic debit, credit card, insurance, or trust fund.

30. The method of claim 26, further comprising personalizing aspects of the funeral plan to reflect a religious, professional, personal, or ethnic desire of a deceased in response to user input.

31. The method of claim 26, further comprising storing contact information of a family member, friend or associate of the user for notification of a decedent'"'"'s death.

32. The method of claim 26, further comprising initiating the electronic display of the funeral plan on a web site.

33. The method or claim 26, further comprising modifying the funeral plan in response to user input.

34. The method of claim 26, wherein the pricing of a product or service is guaranteed, the method further comprising initiating a display to the user of an electronic image or text representing terms of the guarantee.

35. The method of claim 26, further comprising initiating the display of an image representative of the product or service to a user.

36. The method of claim 26, further comprising scheduling a meeting with a death care professional in response to user input.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising initiating the display of contact information to the user enabling personal or electronic communication with the death care professional.

38. The method of claim 26, further comprising retrieving an estimated cost from the database for a non-guaranteed item.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the non-guaranteed item is selected from the group consisting of:

a floral arrangement, musical performance, clergy, transportation and honorarium costs.

40. The method of claim 38, further comprising storing a currency value indicative of client funds that are budgeted to pay for the non-guaranteed item.

41. The method of claim 26, further comprising storing information related to donations.

42. The method of claim 26, further comprising initiating the display of a payment status of the funeral plan to the user.

43. The method of claim 26, wherein the pricing information includes bids from at least a subset of the plurality of funeral service providers.

44. The method of claim 26, further comprising relating an offer for the product or service from the user to at least a subset of the plurality of funeral service providers, wherein the offer includes a price range.

45. The method of claim 26, further comprising associating and recommending to the user a complementary item from the plurality of products and services in response to the user selecting the product or service.

46. The method of claim 26, further comprising initiating the display of educational information, counseling and Internet links related to the product or service.

47. The method of claim 26, further comprising verifying the availability of the product or service from among the plurality of funeral service providers.

48. The method of claim 26, further comprising encrypting user data and funeral plan information in conjunction with creating the funeral plan.

49. The method of claim 26, wherein the plurality of budgetary parameters is indicative of an expectant budget for the plan.

50. The method of claim 26, wherein the plurality of budgetary parameters is indicative of an income associated with the user.

51. The method of claim 26, wherein the plurality of budgetary parameters is indicative of a geographic consideration.

52. The method of claim 26, wherein the plurality of budgetary parameters is indicative of an insurance consideration.

53. A program product, comprising:

a program configured upon execution to;

generate a plurality of budgetary parameters, wherein the plurality of budgetary parameters is indicative of at least one of an expectant budget for funeral plan, an income associated with a user, a geographic consideration, or an insurance consideration;

generate a plurality of groupings of products and services each associated with a budgetary parameter of the plurality of budgetary parameters, wherein each product and service in the groupings of the plurality of groupings of products and services is included because it meets or complements a budgetary criterion or requirement associated with the budgetary parameter;

receive user input associated with a grouping of products and services of the plurality of products and services to obtain requested pricing information on a product and/or service offered by a selected funeral service provider among a plurality of funeral service providers;

retrieve in response to the user input the requested pricing information by accessing a database storing pricing information associated with the grouping of products and services associated with the budgetary parameter and offered by the plurality of funeral service providers, wherein the grouping of products and services are preselected to further complement each other and complete aspects of funeral planning, wherein each funeral service provider is associated with a distinct set of products and services from the plurality of groupings of products and services, and wherein the database maintains pricing information for the set of products and services associated with each funeral service provider;

steer generation of the funeral plan according to the budgetary parameter of the plurality of budgetary parameters by prompting user selections from the grouping of products and services associated with the budgetary parameter; and

output the requested pricing information to the user; and

a recordable, computer-readable medium storing the program.

54. A computer-implemented method for creating an online funeral plan, the method comprising:

generating a profile including a plurality of profile parameters, wherein the plurality of profile parameters are related to a personal funerary preference and a lifestyle of a decedent, and the lifestyle of the decedent is associated with a hobby of the decedent;

generating a plurality of groupings of products and services each associated with a profile parameter of the plurality of profile parameters;

receiving user input associated with a grouping of products and services of the plurality of groupings of products and services to obtain requested pricing information on a product or service offered by a selected funeral service provider among a plurality of funeral service providers;

retrieving in response to the user input the requested pricing information by accessing a database storing pricing information associated with the grouping of products and services associated with the profile parameter and offered by the plurality of funeral service providers, wherein the grouping of products and services are preselected to complement each other and complete aspects of funeral planning, and to individually and collectively accord with the profile parameter that relates to the personal funerary preference and the lifestyle of the decedent, wherein each funeral service provider is associated with a distinct set of products and services from the plurality of products and services, and wherein the database maintains pricing information for the set of products and services associated with each funeral service provider;

steering generation of the funeral plan according to the profile parameter that relates to the personal funerary preference and the lifestyle of the decedent by prompting user selections from the grouping of products and services associated with the profile parameter;

outputting the requested pricing information to the user; and

wherein the generating the profile, generating the plurality of groupings, receiving user input, retrieving, steering, and outputting steps are implemented by executable software stored in a computer.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising selecting a funeral service provider from the plurality of funeral service providers in response to the user input.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising selecting the funeral service provider from a plurality of funeral homes based on criteria chosen from the group consisting of:

location, services, products, capacity, pricing information, appearance and reputation.

57. The method of claim 54, further comprising receiving user input from the user to select a collection of products and services to include in the funeral plan.

58. The method of claim 54, wherein the steering of the generation of the funeral plan further comprises personalizing aspects of the funeral plan to reflect a religious, professional, personal, or ethnic desire of a deceased in accordance with the user profile parameter and in response to user input.

59. The method of claim 54, further comprising storing contact information of a family member, friend or associate of the user for notification of a decedent'"'"'s death.

60. The method of claim 54, further comprising electronically storing the funeral plan for later retrieval.

61. The method or claim 54, further comprising modifying the funeral plan in response to user input.

62. The method of claim 54, further comprising directing user input to a web site, and communicating the pricing information for a products or service to the user via the web site, wherein the pricing information is retrieved from the database.

63. The method of claim 54, wherein the pricing of a product or service is guaranteed, the method further comprising initiating a display to the user of an electronic image or text representing terms of the guarantee.

64. The method of claim 54, further comprising initiating the display of an image representative of the product or service to a user.

65. The method of claim 54, further comprising:

scheduling a meeting with a death care professional in response to user input; and

initiating the display of contact information to the user enabling personal or electronic communication with the death care professional.

66. The method of claim 54, further comprising retrieving an estimated cost from the database for a non-guaranteed item selected from the group consisting of:

a floral arrangement, musical performance, clergy, transportation and honorarium costs.

67. The method of claim 54, further comprising associating and recommending to the user a complementary item from the plurality of products and services in response to the user selecting the product or service.