In Loving Memory

 Funeral Flowers

DIY Funeral - Planning Guide

Making thoughtful preparations for your own funeral means your family and friends will know your wishes in advance. That means there will be less scope for confusion or disagreement and the practical tasks will be easier to arrange. Conflict often arises when family members need to make decisions without knowing what you wanted.

You can make your wishes known just by telling people, or via a memorandum of wishes which can be attached to your will. When writing your will (and when pre-planning your funeral) choose your executor carefully, and discuss with them what you want to happen, for both your will and your funeral. Obviously things get a lot more complicated for everyone if you don't have a will and nobody knows what you wanted.

When to have a gathering

A funeral (where the person's body is present) or memorial service (where the body is not present but their ashes or other memorabilia are) can be held close to the time of burial or cremation or at a later date. The choice whether or not to have the casket or urn present at the service is yours. Having a viewing service or wake is also up to you.

Do it your way!

A funeral or memorial service is all about remembering the person as they were, and how they wanted to be remembered. Personalize it as much as possible - that's the whole point of DIY. Have fun with it, in whatever way you or the person who has died would have wanted. Decorate the casket, choose the playlist, reminisce and come together to share whatever emotions come naturally. It's your funeral after all. You may as well make it a once in a lifetime experience.

Help your executor

Dealing with the finances and property of a person who has died is a separate issue from arranging their funeral. However it will usually be the responsibililty of the executor or relatives to close bank accounts, cancel passports and insurances and so on. So providing them with this information, or where to find it, is a great idea.

The Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages will require a lot of very detailed information when it comes to registering a person's death. The checklist at Registering a Death will help you gather the information you'll need.

The website My Trove provides a centralised platform for notifying many other government and private organisations about someone's death.

Funeral planning guide

The guide below can be used to gather important information when thinking about the arrangements for your own future funeral, or when organising a DIY funeral for someone else.

Name, Address, and contact information of the Next of Kin or Executor of your Will who would be expected to make your funeral arrangements Name:
Address:

Contact phone numbers:
Email:
Name and Address of the Solicitor or other person holding your Will Name:
Address:

Contact phone numbers:
Email:
Do you prefer a Burial or Cremation? Burial / Cremation

What type of casket?
Do you prefer a Funeral Service or a Memorial Service, or none? Funeral / Memorial / No service / Any other option:
Pre-service viewing of the deceased Yes / No

Where?

When?

Any special requirements?
Venue for your Funeral or Memorial Service Time of Service:
Venue Name:
Address:

Person to contact:
Contact numbers:
Email:
Name and Address of preferred person to conduct Service / Memorial Priest / clergy / celebrant / friend / relative:
Name:
Address:

Contact numbers:
Email:
Are there to be refreshments or a Wake? Yes / No
Time:
Venue Name:
Address:

Person to contact:
Contact numbers:
Email:
Will there be more than one service, for example a larger public service and then a small private committal? Separate Private Committal:
Yes / No
Venue for your Private Service Time of Service:
Venue Name:
Address:

Person to contact:
Contact numbers:
Email:
Name and Address of preferred person to conduct Private Service Priest / clergy / celebrant /
friend / relative
Name:
Address:

Contact numbers:
Email:
Funeral Director (if any) with whom arrangements have been made? Name:
Address:

Contact numbers:
Email:
Any pre-paid funeral policy? Company Name:
Address:

Contact numbers:
Email:
Type of Policy:
Policy Reference Number:
Plot (if any) new / re-open
Entombment		 Plot / Entombment Reference:
Name of Cemetery:
Address:

Contact numbers:
Email:
Ashes Scatter / Inter (bury)
Where:

Service Information

Any preferred songs?



Any preferred poetry?



Any pre-recorded messages?



Any written messages to be read?



Any preferred speakers for the eulogy?



Any other preferances that you want the funeral organiser to know?



Preparation of printed Order of Service?


Pallbearers Name:

Name:

Name:

Name:

Name:

Name:
Flowers/ Donations to?

People to Notify

Where should Obituary Notices be placed?




Is there any preferred wording you want?




Other useful information

If you are pre-planning your funeral it is helpful to record contact details, membership numbers, etc. Here is a suggested list of some of the people and organisations that should be notified:
  • Family
  • Significant Friends
  • Lawyer
  • Accountant
  • WINZ
  • Library
  • Automobile Association
  • Clubs
  • Organisations
  • Charity and magazine subscriptions

Your online presence

The question of how to handle passwords, electronic identification methods and social media accounts in the internet age is tricky. It's a little beyond the scope of this website but it does need to be considered.

Home - www.diyfuneral.co.nz

While every effort has been made to present accurate and up-to-date information on this website, no responsiblity can be accepted for consequences arising from reliance on it. I encourage you to share it with anyone who may be interested in reducing the costs involved in saying goodbye to a loved one. Please use common sense, make careful local enquiries, and spread the word!