What You Should Know...
Why is Preplanning Important?
Thinking and talking about death is hard. It's a very emotional subject. But death is a fact of life, and ensuring that a person's final wishes are carried out in a dignified manner, according to what each one would have wanted, eases the experience for family and friends.
There are many advantages to arranging your funeral, cremation or cemetery services in advance.
- You protect your family from having to make such decisions at a difficult time.
- Your make your wishes known to your loved ones
- You make your own decisions about the type of service, merchandise and price.
- You prevent emotional overspending by family members who can only guess what you might have wanted.
- Your funeral, cremation or cemetery prearrangement may be transferable.
- You lock in today's prices for service that may not be needed for many years.
How to Preplan
To ensure final arrangements are known and carried out, there are four main steps to follow when preplanning:
1. Reflect. Spend time thinking about what you want your final arrangements to be. Consult close family members and include them in the process, if you wish. Use preplanning resources, such as planning counselor or at www.ShareYourWishes.org to assist in the decision making process. This can be the hardest step, but one day will help your loved ones during a very emotional time.
2. Record. Create a formal document detailing your final wishes. Clearly communicate everything from traditional items such as indicating whether to be buried or cremated - to things you might not think of, such as the type of music you want at your service or whether you want your loved ones to celebrate your life with a party or gathering.
3. Share. Discuss your final wishes with loved ones. Don't assume family members will know what you want. Once you've shared your desires, keep copies of your funeral planning document in a filing cabinet or in-home safe. Make sure others, including your legal counsel and funeral counselor, know where your document exists.
4. Support. Realize your final wishes with the financial means necessary to carry them out. By preplanning your arrangements, you give your family the freedom to celebrate your life, instead of leaving them the burden of planning your funeral. However, if you don't provide financial support for your arrangements, your family may end up scrambling to cover the costs of your funeral. There are many options available to fund arrangements. Discuss payment options to help evaluate and determine the right choice for you.