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Most people have their ideas about what they want to happen to themselves when they die, and they worry that their family will have to focus on planning a funeral during an already difficult time. My dad passed away in April and if all the arrangements hadn’t been decided ahead of time, it would have been even more traumatic to let him go. He was a very thoughtful and organized man even while in extreme pain as he was dying. My dad and mom had a list of things to tend to after he passed away, and that list helped so much in alleviating some stress afterwards. Of course, there was still (and is still) sadness and stress but I don’t know how my mom would have survived it without the organization of all the legal and other matters to deal with.
In a future article, I am going to make the list available for you, dear reader. So hopefully you won’t need it but if you do, I sincerely hope it makes thing a little bit gentler for you during such a difficult time. Please be patient as it might take a month or two for me to write the article and post it. Ok, so back to why planning your own funeral ahead of time has become the norm.
It has become the norm for people to pay for and organize their funerals well in advance of the inevitable. There are so many good, thoughtful reasons why people do this. Because of this this, funeral homes now offer pre-payment plans where you can effectively pay for your funeral through finance organizing everything you want, down to the music, before you are of an age where you even start thinking about death.
Your wants
By planning your funeral, you can make sure your wants are heard. Funeral planning can be a very stressful time for families because they all want to honor you as best as possible. By planning your own, you can take this stress away from your families. You can choose everything you want and how you want to be remembered. It also allows you to state your wishes and what you want to happen to your own body without other people having make that choice for you which could cause strife in your family.
Finances
At the end of our lives, our assets are divided amongst our families or guarantors as an inheritance. However, paying for a funeral can be quite costly for families meaning it eats into their inheritance and if there is not any or a small amount of inheritance, family members might have to take out loans to pay for the funeral. That can be a huge burden during such a trying time. By removing that barrier by paying for everything well ahead of time, it could reduce your family’s stress and worries by paying. Also, by selecting and paying for everything ahead of time, your family won’t be wasting money on flowers your don’t like or care for or the music that isn’t what you want. By planning ahead of time you can be saving them money and stress.
Choosing the right firm
This may be the most important part of why you should plan your funeral. Different funeral homes offer different plans and have different ethics. You will want to find a firm that fits with your ethics and how you want to be treated. Some people want a green funeral with a carbon-neutral cremation or burial, whereas some people want lots of flourishes with no expenses spared. This is why you need to plan your funeral to decide what fits with what you want. Make sure you research the funeral company you want and ensure that you ask lots of questions to fully understand them. Also make sure your family knows which funeral home you have chosen and give them a copy of any contracts, paperwork, and proof of payments that you have made.
Extenuating circumstances
Some funeral homes allow for extenuating circumstances around deaths in certain situations or your wants when you pass away. A lot of people choose to donate their organs or donate parts or all of their bodies to medical science which may mean you can’t have certain things at your funeral. For example, you may not be allowed an open coffin depending on the organs donated if you have donated parts of your body as it could be traumatizing for your family. These are all things to consider and discuss with the funeral homes before committing to a plan. There may also be delays with your funeral if your family thinks there could be medical negligence around the causes of death. Some steps can be taken around this, and your family should be able to follow the wrongful death lawsuit steps if they suspect anything. This recently happened with one of my relative’s friends. It took several weeks for the autopsy to be completed and was heartbreaking. Be sure to speak with the funeral home about how abnormalities are handled.
Planning your own funeral ahead of time can be such a blessing for your family in the long run. I’m so thankful that my parents are so very organized as I can’t imagine how much harder this would have been for my mom if the funeral wasn’t planned out ahead of time. It was devastating enough as it was.
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