Pre-planning your funeral involves organizing your burial plus any other end-of-life formalities and ceremonies while you’re still in sound health and alive. While thinking of your death and arranging your own funeral may be challenging and uncomfortable, it’s one of the best decisions. Discussed below are five benefits of pre-planning your funeral.
It ensures your last wishes are fulfilled after your death
Pre-planning your funeral is the most effective way to ensure all your wishes are honored. When pre-planning your burial, you can decide the services or other things you want to be done. Your wishes may include:
- Cremation or traditional burial
- Visitation type (wake, reception, or viewing)
- Secular gathering or spiritual/religious ceremony
- Where you want the services to be held (cemetery, funeral home, and more)
- The specific music to be played
- Flower preferences
- Any other unique desires you may have to ensure a personalized burial
Discussing your end-of-life wishes with a funeral director from a reputable funeral home, such as Southern Funeral Care, can help you decide on the services to settle for based on the available options. This relieves your loved ones from making hard decisions during their time of grief.
It helps save money and protect your dependents financially
Pre-planning your burial comes with pre-paid funeral plans, which allow you to pay the burial expenses ahead of time. When you arrange your burial in advance, some funeral homes provide an assurance that locks their pricing at current prices. This means even if you pass away ten or more years from the date you pay for burial expenses, your loved ones won’t have to cater to the difference in increasing burial expenses.
Additionally, suppose you pay for your burial plan in advance using a funeral insurance policy. The money will be available immediately, and your life insurance returns won’t be depleted on your burial arrangements. This relieves your dependents of financial stress and leaves them with more money.
It offers emotional support
The loss of a loved one can be emotionally challenging and overwhelming. Dealing with burial arrangements during such difficult times only adds to the family’s stress. This is where funeral pre-planning comes in. Organizing your burial in advance relieves your grieving family of the emotional stress that comes with planning funerals by providing them with the support they need to mourn you and heal.
Pre-planning your funeral prevents family conflicts
Burial arrangements can be a source of family conflicts and disagreements. Pre-planning your funeral empowers you to make decisions based on your wishes and desires. You can specify all the vital details, including the location and type of service, avoiding ambiguity and minimizing the risk of conflicts among your grieving family members whose opinions regarding your burial may vary.
Funeral costs may also cause disagreements among loved ones. Taking care of your burial’s financial aspects during pre-planning reduces misunderstandings arising from financial responsibilities.
It gives peace of mind to your family
Burial pre-planning brings peace of mind to your survivors. It ensures your loved ones don’t experience the stress of making your funeral arrangements. Organizing your burial when you’re still alive allows you to specify how your funeral should be, reducing the possibility of conflicts among loved ones due to their varying opinions.
Endnote
Arranging your burial in advance comes with multiple perks, so consider pre-planning your funeral to enjoy these benefits.
This is such a dreaded – but important – topic! Thanks for sharing this information! It is definitely something I need to buckle down and do so that I can express my wishes.
It’s such an important topic, and your breakdown of the benefits makes it much less daunting. Knowing that pre-planning ensures our last wishes are honored and eases the financial burden on our loved ones is a huge relief. Plus, the emotional support it offers during such a tough time is invaluable.
I know this makes so much sense but I’ve never thought about it. But you’re absolutely right, I should for sure.