Unfortunately, as many of us have already experienced the death of someone close to us we already know what a painful and difficult experience it is. It is a time of deep emotional turbulence for children, parents, spouses and siblings. Often, they face not only the sudden shock of losing a loved one but also a sense of fear as they contemplate the future without their loved ones. It is a time when friends and family come together to support each other through a very difficult period. This is exactly why you should plan a funeral.

In such times, the focus is often not on the person that died but rather on the distraught relatives and friends that have been left behind. There are immediate concerns about who to notify, how to organize things and what to do generally. Whether it sounds morbid or not, issues such as organ donations, procurement of death certificates, purchasing of caskets, purchasing of grave plots, organization of funeral services, obituaries and more all need to be considered. Fortunately, if you take the time to plan a funeral you can ensure that your family and friends are not confronted with the unnecessary burden of having to consider and organize these matters. Believe it or not, if you take the time to plan a funeral in advance, it will be a valued and welcome final gift to your loved ones.

Once you have decided to plan a funeral, it is important to remember that funeral planning is a family matter and planning should therefore start at the home. Plans should be discussed and finalized in much the same way as any other family event. While the precise funeral plan you select is largely up to you to decide, the support of your family for that plan will ensure that it is smoothly implemented when the time comes.

The type of funeral plan that you make is entirely up to you – there are few restrictions on how you can plan a funeral of your own. Remember, there are as many ways to honor the dead as there are cultures, religions and budgets. Invariably, however, your plan will be largely influenced and guided by your faith and philosophy generally. All of these items will help determine whether you organize something simple like a private cremation or whether you opt for something more elaborate like a public ceremony and the full burial service. You may even opt to have your body retained at home for private visitations by close friends and relatives, in other instances the body may simply remain at the church until burial. The options are endless and in the end come down to personal choice. Whatever options you end up choosing, be sure they are based on what’s meaningful to you, not on what you think others would like or expect of you. After all, it will be part of your family’s final memories of you.

How Can EstateBee Help You? 

For more information on how to plan a funeral, read some of the other funeral planning articles on our website.

Alternatively, check out our book entitled Funeral Planning Basics. Funeral Planning Basics is a comprehensive funeral planning book that will take you step-by-step through the entire process of planning and arranging your funeral. It will introduce you to issues such as organ donations, purchasing caskets, cremation, burial, funeral services and much more.

If you have any queries about our funeral planning products or services, please feel free to contact our customer service team.