If you have ever been faced with the task of arranging a funeral, then place yourself in the shoes of your loved one who is faced with arranging yours. Not an experience anyone relishes no matter how simple or elaborate the funeral might be.
So where does one start? After registering the death and assuming the decision to appoint a preferred Funeral Director has been made, thoughts and attention turn to the numerous choices of each aspect.
Cremation or Burial? Place of Cremation or Burial? Date and Time? Unattended or Attended? Simple or Traditional? Religious or Non-religious? Coffin or Casket? Traditional Hearse or Alternative, such as a Horse-Drawn Hearse or specialist vehicle? Vehicles to transport family and friends to the service? These are just a few of the questions which need answering with decisions to be made, within a restricted timeframe, and at an exceedingly difficult time when grieving and trying to come to terms with their loss.
Contacting family and friends both locally and further afield, including some who may reside in countries around the globe, can be traumatic and stressful. In like manner, trying to establish everybody’s availability to attend on a convenient date within a window of one week to approximately three or four weeks or so.
It is important to financially plan for your funeral, putting aside money to cover all the arrangements to reduce the burden on loved ones. At the same time, you can pre-select your choices for the type of funeral, place, coffin, vehicles etc. combined with specific details regarding dress code, themes, music, hymns, readings, eulogies and so on.
A pre-paid funeral plan allows you to purchase the Funeral Director Services and secure them at today’s prices, thereby avoiding future inflation. Not only does this alleviate some of the stress at the time of the funeral, but taking responsibility and pre-selecting your choices by setting these out in the plan can be a huge relief too. We know first hand the relief for families when their loved one has already made the big decision. It means they can concentrate on the finer details more easily.
Even if you do not wish to pre-pay and establish a funeral plan, it’s a good idea to write down some of your choices and wishes in an “Expression of Wishes” document that your family can easily locate when the time comes. You can also include details of your appointed Funeral Director, your solicitor, your Next of Kin and your Executor if you have a will in place. All this information and decisions made regarding your funeral will help guide them to fully understand your last requests.
By planning your own funeral in advance, you can provide peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones.