5 Steps to Help Pre-Plan Your Funeral

We don’t like thinking ahead to our own funerals, but doing so can really relieve our loved ones of some of the burden when the time does come. Your closest friends and family will be in a state of mourning, so making funeral plans may be the last thing they want to do. Pre-planning your funeral can make this process easier on them as well as relieving some of the financial burdens if you decide to make arrangements in advance.

If this is something you’re considering, then here are 5 steps to help you pre-plan your funeral.

Decide what kind of service you want

There are various considerations for what kind of funeral you want to have. Do you want your funeral held in a church or a funeral home? Would you rather have a burial or a cremation? Do you want to be embalmed? Have an open casket? What kind of wake or reception do you want, if you want one at all?

Choose a casket

If you decide to be buried rather than cremated, then you might want to choose your own casket in advance. This will likely come down to price as well as your own personal preferences since the highest quality caskets can be expensive. Friends and family members planning your funeral can get bogged down on details like this, especially if they’re uncertain of your wishes, so this small decision can be a big help.

Or what to do with your ashes

If you go down the cremation route, then have a say in what happens to your ashes afterward. Do you want them to remain in an urn in a special place? You could choose and even buy an earn if you make this decision. Maybe you’d prefer to have your ashes scattered and decide to specify a location.

Compare local funeral homes

Once you know what you want from your funeral, you can start comparing funeral homes to decide which one suits your needs and budget best. You probably don’t want to make your friends and family travel far, so look at local homes if possible. Compare prices and services as well as looking at reviews and reputation to choose someone trustworthy.

Consider pre-paying for your funeral

You can also pay for your funeral in advance or pay for it in part with a deposit, for example. This gives your family one less thing to worry about when arranging your funeral. You can talk to funeral homes to see what pre-pay options they have for funeral services. Another option is to allocate money in your will towards your funeral.

If you’ve suffered a death in the family or are considering pre-arrangement services, then contact Hayworth Miller for funeral services around Lewisville and Winston Salem, NC.