Introduction
Funerals are sad occasions, but they can also be a time when friends and family gather together to celebrate the life of someone special. Planning your funeral can give you peace of mind and help ensure that your loved ones don’t have any unexpected expenses after your death. There are many things to consider when planning a funeral, including what type of service will be held and where it will take place. You may also need to make arrangements for transporting your body after death or selecting an urn for cremated remains.
Only You Can Know What You Want
- Only you can know what you want.
- You have to be honest with yourself about what your preferences are, and make sure they’re reflected in the arrangements. The last thing anyone wants is to put their loved ones through the stress of making decisions at a time when they should be grieving.
- Don’t expect others to do it for you—it’s not fair or healthy for them or you.
If any specific traditions are important to your family and friends, such as having an open-casket viewing, ask those who will be involved if there’s anything else relevant that might need discussing before the service takes place (e.g., “Is there anything special about how we should pay respects?”).
Create a Funeral Wish List in Advance
A funeral wish list is a comprehensive list of the things you want to happen at your funeral. It includes information about how to handle your remains and burial, as well as other preferences such as music, readings, and eulogies. You don’t need to include everything on your funeral wish list—just make sure it covers what matters most to you.
You may also create a separate “end-of-life” plan for yourself that contains instructions for end-of-life care, including medical treatments and organ donation wishes. This can help ensure that your final wishes are honored by family members after death (even if they’re not included in your actual will).
Decide on the Type of Service You Would Like
If you don’t want a religious service, it’s best to avoid using the word “funeral” when describing your plans for an after-death memorial or memorial gathering. You might also consider planning or attending a nonreligious celebration of life instead.
As for services with religious elements, there are many different types of services available:
- Ceremony – this is typically brief and designed to be more informal than a funeral Mass or funeral service. It may include readings flower(funeral flower arrangements) and music, but usually doesn’t include any eulogies.
- Memorial – this is sometimes called a remembrance ceremony or celebration of life; it doesn’t necessarily involve religious elements unless they are specifically requested by family members who intend to attend the event.* Funeral – often includes readings from scripture and may include music, eulogies, prayers and other elements selected by family members or clergy*. A funeral mass will follow these same protocols but with additional Catholic rituals added into the mix (for example, blessing of mourners). * Funeral Service (or Wake) – as above but typically held at home until burial occurs later that day/weekend/month etc (usually 1-3 days).
Prepare the display of your funeral photos and memorial board
It’s important to remember the good times, but it’s also important to remember the bad times. You want your funeral guests to know that you were an amazing and inspiring human being, so they’re going to need a few reminders of how much courage and strength you had in your life.
Your funeral board should be full of photos from all different periods—from when you were a baby through adulthood and beyond. That way, people will get a sense of how much you’ve changed over the years along with how many different experiences led up to who you ultimately became as an adult.
As for keeping track of which photos belong on your display board or memorial table? We recommend making labels and framing service for each picture with dates marked next to them so that everyone can easily see when something was taken as opposed to just looking at them without any context clues.
Consider Including Financial Planning in Your Preparations
If you think about it, there’s a lot of planning that can be done in advance. You may want to make sure your financial house is in order before you go. A prepaid funeral plan is one way to do this. It allows you to pay in advance for services, such as embalming, a casket and burial plot, or cremation services. By planning, you can save money while ensuring that your wishes are followed after death.
Another option is setting up a trust fund with your bank or credit union. This allows family members access to the money after your death without having to go through probate court—a process known for taking months or even years (if at all). Instead of handing over power of attorney as part of durable medical power of attorney paperwork (which gives someone else control over health care decisions if something happens), consider creating an advanced directive instead: this allows someone else like an executor named by the grantor (you) access over certain assets until they die because they’ve been deemed mentally incapable by doctors—at which point everything becomes theirs again!
Leave funeral wishes in a will
Writing your funeral service is a great way to ensure that your loved ones know exactly how you want to be remembered. It’s also a good opportunity for them to hear some stories about the person who has passed away. If you’re planning on writing your funeral in advance, here are some suggestions:
- Write down what you want people to say about you
- Share some of your favorite memories from life with those who will attend the services
- Make sure any financial arrangements are clear (for example, if there is money left over after your funeral expenses have been paid)
Talk to Friends and Family About Your Wishes
When you’re planning a funeral, it’s important to talk with friends and family about your wishes. This way, they can help you make sure that your wishes are carried out at the time of death.
If you have written a will, make sure your loved ones know where to find it. Your loved ones should also have copies of any other legal documents related to your estate (such as an Advanced Health Care Directive).
Make special arrangments needed
The next step is to make arrangements for your pets, children and house by lawyer like this family law solicitors What do you want done with your possessions? Put them in storage or sell them? Do you want to be buried or cremated?
This may seem like a morbid activity, but for many people, it is a way to have peace of mind.
This may seem like a morbid activity, but for many people, it is a way to have peace of mind. Funeral planning is a way to ensure that your wishes are followed at the time of your death and beyond. Your family will feel more comfortable knowing exactly what you want, and they won’t have to worry about making decisions during an already stressful time.
Funeral planning can also give you control over your funeral. You can decide how much money should be spent on flowers or other items related to the burial service; this allows you to fit within any budget constraints that would otherwise limit what would be possible in terms of funeral arrangements (or even cremation services).
Conclusion
Planning your funeral can be a very rewarding experience. It allows you to feel prepared and at peace, knowing that you have made the arrangements that best reflect how you want to be remembered by those who love you. This article has given some tips for doing this, but there are many other resources available for those who want more information on planning their funerals.
