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Pre-Planning a Funeral
By Bill Abernathy
One of the most stressful times of your life will happen
when a loved one dies. Although no one likes to envision
the day when a parent or loved one will pass, taking a
few measures to prepare yourself for the funeral and
memorial service will greatly ease the frustration of an
often confusing and hectic time.
If your loved one is nearing the final stages of life,
it would be very beneficial to find out any requests for
final services that they would like. Knowing their final
wishes can take a large burden off of the family who
otherwise would be planning a funeral service without
the benefit of knowing which music to choose or the type
of memorial the deceased would've wanted.
Planning ahead can help you understand the costs
involved with a funeral and will allow you to budget
accordingly for what you can afford. Meeting with a
funeral director to discuss all of the options will give
you greater understanding of the funeral process. While
planning a funeral is always a somber occasion,
discussing your options beforehand will allow you to
understand your choices without having your judgment
clouded by grief and sadness.
There are different ways you can pre-plan a funeral. You
can meet with a funeral director at the funeral home of
your choice to plan a complete funeral, right down to
the music played and the clothes to be worn by the
deceased. This is an option that many elderly people or
terminally ill people choose. They would like their
final wishes known and to be carried out by the people
of their choosing.
A basic pre-planning would entail knowing and
documenting the final wishes of your loved one. Would
they prefer to be cremated or buried? Are there specific
readings that they would like to be shared with
mourners? Where would they like their final resting
place to be? What would they like the inscription on the
tombstone or grave marker to read? Documenting these
wishes will give you a list to reference after the
person passes and will make arranging the funeral much
easier. You can be sure that there will be no question
that the arrangements you and the funeral director make
would be what the deceased would've wanted. It is
important to keep this list of final wishes in a safe
place or with a trusted person who will be responsible
for arranging the funeral.
Pre-planning a funeral may seem like too grim and morbid
a task, but the reality is that everyone will die
eventually, and planning a funeral when you are grieving
is emotionally challenging. It makes sense to
pre-arrange a funeral for a loved one (or for yourself)
to alleviate the burden from family and friends. Making
tough final decisions now will allow loved ones the time
to grieve without the hardship of arranging a service.
Mr. Abernathy is a marketing agent of Morrissett Funeral
Home. For more information on their Funeral Home
Richmond please visit their website. |
