Pre-planning your own Funeral

The thoughful practice of planning your own funeral can provide helpful information and guide those who are organising your funeral.

Advising them of the options that you prefer can assist your family at a time when they are grieving and it will be hard for them to think clearly.

While members of the funeral industry offer the invaluable service of handling a situation most of us would prefer to avoid, it's important to remember that they are profit-based businesses and to stay in business they need to sell you (and those organising your funeral) as many services as possible, and at as high a price as possible.

The most important thing to remember is that a meaningful, heartfelt memorial doesn't need to cost more than your family can afford. Whether you spend $600 or $10,000, the family will love and miss the deceased just as much. It's the coming together of family and friends to laugh, cry, and love each other that makes a funeral meaningful, not the amount of money it costs.

And this is crucial: there is no charity or government organization that will pay off any debt that has been accrued if you and your family arrange a funeral that's beyond your and your family's means. It's you and your family's responsibility to spend within your budget.
Funeral homes are not required to let the family pay in installments; some these days are asking for payment upfront. While this might seem frustrating, it's a responsible business practice and it prevents many grieving people from falling into a financial trap when they're not thinking clearly.
Sweating the monthly bills six months after the death because the funeral payments are high does not, I assure you, help lift the burden of grief.

There are a number of resources on this website to help you plan your funeral:

• A list of the legal information needed by the person organising a funeral. Having this information collected together can ease a huge burden for those organising your funeral.
• I try to demystify the paperwork and the various forms needed by various organisations.
• This guide will hopefully answer most of your questions about many of the options available for burial or cremation, information for the funeral or memorial service, and much more...
• This information organiser will help collect most of the information that will help make your funeral run smoothly.

However, may I hope that your family do not need to use for a very long time the information that you have thoughtfully gathered.