Preplanning Funeral Arrangements

If you have ever had to make funeral arrangements for a loved one, you know how stressful this life event can be. Preplanning can help eliminate many of the pitfalls a family may have to deal with. When your loved one plans their funeral in advance they will be making their wishes known to you so you don’t have to guess what would be appropriate. The bigger question may be, where will the funds come from to pay the expenses? If they are not paid in advance who will be responsible for them. 

Many well-intended families over the years have avoided having these difficult conversations and, as a result, found themselves ill-equipped to deal with the realities of losing a loved one. Most of us would never leave for vacation without spending hours planning the trip and working out the smallest of details—doesn’t it make sense then to have a plan in place for the inevitable?

Here are some things to consider when deciding who to call for help:

• Set up an appointment to visit the Funeral Home. In person visits are priceless.
• If a visit is not possible you may want to visit the firm’s website.
• Have a list of questions ready to ask on your visit.
• Ask who owns the funeral home you are dealing with. Many firms are no longer actually owned by the family who started the business and are corporately operated.

If cremation is going to be part of the service, there are even more questions you need to ask, such as:

• Do you own your own crematory?
• How many bodies are cremated at a time?
• Who cares for the body from the time of passing until the cremated body is returned into your care?
• Can the staff explain the cremation process from start to finish to help with your choices?

You want to choose a funeral home that can accommodate your specific wishes, not all are the same. In a recent survey, 86 percent of the women surveyed said they bought a pre-need plan to make things easier on their children and 100 percent of their children were extremely grateful. After all, mothers do know what’s best! 

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