Have you discussed with your loved ones the details of what should happen when you pass away?
Or are you like most – waiting for the right time?
Of course, there might never be a “right” time to have this conversation, but there is another way . . .
Where instead of fearing our mortality, we take control of how the story of our life will be told. And you get the recognition you deserve for your accomplishments – big or small, professional or personal.
Pre-planning for your funeral can ease the burden faced by your loved ones. It helps them avoid the pressure of so many decisions.
It allows you to control the way you’d like to be remembered when the time comes.
Pre-planning your funeral can be a great way to show your family how much you care about them. And it can be beneficial to you to be involved in the finer details of what will happen when the time comes.
What Is a Pre-Planned Funeral?
Pre-planning a funeral allows you to document your wishes for a funeral in advance.
Then when the time comes, loved ones can honour and celebrate your life and your memory the way you’d like it to be done.
You can pre-plan your own decisions – from the type of cremation or burial you want, the type of ceremony you prefer, and the way in which you’d like everything to be carried out.
The process can be as simple or as detailed as you like. You might outline your basic requests and leave some of the finer details to your family. Or perhaps you’d prefer to arrange everything, from the coffin, to flowers, readings / poems, music, choice of Clergy or Celebrant etc.
Benefits to You and Your Family of Planning Ahead.
Planning a funeral can be very difficult. Whether it is more or less difficult to plan ahead or not is up to each of us and our personal feelings.
Nobody should be forced into the process of pre-planning. But at the same time, if a sudden death occurs that is just what happens to the family – they are forced to make decisions they never wanted to think about.
The best thing then I suppose is for each of us to consider the options, and what is right and wrong for us.
To that end, some benefits of pre-planning your funeral can include:
- You make your own decisions in your own time
- Eases emotional pressure from your family when the time comes
- Alleviates financial burdens on your family
- Can prevent arguments between family members about how you should be remembered
- Can provide peace of mind knowing that your wishes are documented and will be carried out as you planned
- Documenting your specific requests not only for the funeral, but also for your remains (if cremated for example, would you like your ashes interred or scattered somewhere special to you)
- A proper and fitting farewell helps those left behind to move forward in their lives. This can be assisted greatly by knowing that you received the farewell you wanted.
- Controlling the choices and costs of your funeral
- And perhaps most important, it allows your family more time to comfort and support each other instead of stressing over funeral decisions.
Other Considerations of Pre-Planning a Funeral
Firstly, pre-planning a funeral can simply be pre-arranged with no payment (then the family pays for the funeral when the time comes, which doesn’t cover against price increases but may be best for you). OR, you may choose to enter into a pre-paid funeral plan (making payment now which avoids future price rises and can ease the financial burden on your family when the time comes).
Some people might decide that funeral insurance is better for them. However, with monthly premiums payable until you pass away, many have discovered paying for funeral insurance for many years ends up costing considerably more than pre-paying a funeral (sometimes up to 4 or 5 times as much). As such, even waiting until the time comes would be a lot more beneficial in many cases to insurance.
A pre-paid funeral plan with a Funeral Director allows you to pay todays rates for your future funeral. You are then covered against inflation and price increases of the many components of a funeral. You can pay upfront or by instalments. When the time then comes, the Funeral Director then proceeds with your funeral the way you planned it. Your money is held by a third-party Company – and should be capital guaranteed – and the Funeral Director applies to receive the money after delivering the funeral as you planned.
It can be a great decision to plan the details of the type of service that best suits you. Keep in mind that a funeral of course is more for those left behind, so discussing your thoughts with family can be a good thing to do as you are planning.
While most of us don’t want to think about our death, pre-planning is certainly worth thinking about. When you know that your family will be guided through with professional support it can provide self-satisfaction and comfort. And of course knowing that your wishes will be carried out as requested can give us much needed peach of mind.
