The Benefits of Pre-Planning Your Funeral Arrangements

It’s not always comforting to discuss someone’s after-death arrangements, especially if that someone is you, as funeral pre-planning isn’t a topic that you like to gladly discuss. 

However, pre-planning funeral for yourself can have many advantages, as it allows you to make ahead decisions regarding your preferences of memorialization. It’s up to you to plan if you want a burial or cremation, also communicating such wishes in advance relieves your family from making such difficult decisions at the most painful times. Additionally, pre-planning this service yourself takes the financial responsibilities of your family as you can cover funeral costs in advance.

What Does Pre-Planning a Funeral Mean?

Funeral pre-planning means making prior arrangements for yourself when you leave the world behind. This includes deciding how you want a memorial service to be held, what your preferences are, and covering all the costs yourself to take all the responsibilities from your family in such difficult times. 

Funeral planning involves firstly the arrangement of how your remains should be handled after death. Whether it is going to be traditional burial, cremation, donation, or some other option. Upon deciding the option you should make the appropriate arrangements. The next step is to choose what your preferred memorial service is and compare prices to choose a more affordable one. After completing the most important decisions, then you can think of personalized details that you can include. For example, your favorite flowers, music, guests, or readings. You can discuss all of these preferences with the funeral home and share them with your family.

Why Pre-Planning Your Funeral is Important

Peace of Mind

Future pre-planning of your memorial service is always thoughtful as it prevents your family from thinking about arrangements when they have one of the most difficult times in life. It’s also important, because nobody knows your wishes better than yourself, so your memorial service planning can go according to your wishes. Funeral pre-planning also has the advantage of relieving stress from your loved ones, as they won’t have to worry about everything going according to your wishes. They will be guaranteed that all your wishes will be respected as you planned it in advance considering your own preferences. 

Financial Benefits

Funeral planning resources aren’t easy to handle or manage. That’s why pre-planning is always a good choice for many reasons and one of them is the financial benefits. When you start to plan your memorial service and pay the cost of the arrangements in advance, this way you lock the current prices for the funeral. So when the time comes to be held, what you paid will be way cheaper compared to what it would cost at the time. Also when you arrange everything yourself, It frees your family from thinking about financial responsibilities regarding the service and lets them mourn without worrying about planning the rituals.  

Personalization

Funeral pre-planning is always a better choice than not thinking about it in advance and letting it be handled by your friends or family after death. When you plan it, you have the ability to reflect yourself in the service, make it more personalized, and match your wishes. If you don’t arrange or discuss it with your family before death, then you leave your close people up to decide upon your preferences. This kind of decision can add to the stress levels they already have due to loss. 

Tribute planning in advance gives you the ability to create it with your preferred wishes. It helps people to see and feel your being for the very last moment, that’s why it’s better to make it close to your personality.

Relieving Family Burden

With pre-planning the funeral in advance you not only think about yourself and your last wish, but also about your family, friends, or close people. That is because when you have everything arranged in advance, you remove the pressure of decision-making about every part of the memorial service from your loved ones. Those times are very emotionally and mentally difficult for your family and thinking about planning the service meanwhile can make it more stressful. 

That’s why it’s always better to make every arrangement yourself, so everyone can remember your name as you wished it to be and make those painful times easier for your family. 

How to Start Pre-Planning Your Funeral Arrangements

Research and Choose a Funeral Provider

When you decide to start the arrangement for your memorial service, you have to search for a funeral provider thoughtfully. You can start by checking different funeral planning website to select one that matches your vision. 

The first step for choosing is to look for service providers or funeral homes that have a good reputation and customer reviews online. Search for testimonials from people who used their service and are satisfied with it. After choosing one, make sure that it has the appropriate license and accreditation to provide the service properly. 

Before making the final decision, visit the funeral home and check every essential facility, environment, and atmosphere. It should be a welcoming place so the guests can feel safe and mourn you without worrying about what could go wrong.

After that check for how personalized their service can be. Memorial or funeral services are deeply personal and it’s important that staff who are responsible for planning rituals be interactive and oriented on your needs. Also, make sure they are able and flexible to adjust to any changes that may occur in the future.

Documenting Your Wishes

Funeral pre-planning has many aspects that should be considered so it can be perfectly arranged. One of the important ones is to precisely document your wishes and preferences. Document every important detail that should be taken into consideration when holding the service. The details include your preference about your body and how you wish it to be treated, which music should be played, flowers you want to be presented, the location where to hold it, etc.

It’s always better if you document and outline every detail, as you can make sure everything goes as pre-planned in advance and nobody will have to focus on the arrangement of memorial service. 

Financial Arrangements

If your choice is to directly work with funeral homes to pre-plan your memorial service, they may offer you a trust-based pre-payment plan. It is when your payments are deposited into an account that accumulates interest. The money adds interest until you die, and then your family is able to use it to pay for your funeral. 

Another way to pay for your funeral pre-planning is to purchase a funeral insurance policy. When buying it, you can assign a beneficiary such as a family member, friend, or anyone you can trust and they will get the death benefit. Your beneficiary can use life insurance benefits for other expenses apart from funeral costs, like credit card debt, medical expenses, or other costs that appeared that month.

Communicating with Loved Ones

When preplanning your funeral in advance, it’s not like you have to do it alone. It’s important to ask your family’s opinion about how you are going to arrange it, as they are going to be the ones responsible for seeing as it goes. Tell them what are your arrangements, preferences, and wishes. As they know you better than anyone else, they may come up with ideas that are close to your personality and can help them feel eased in those difficult times when you won’t be with them anymore. 

That’s why it’s really important to discuss your plans with loved ones so they can be prepared for them and informed about where their help would be needed. 

Debunking Myths About Pre-Planning Funerals

Many people see funeral planning as something that can be depressing, expensive, or unnecessary but it appears not to be true. In fact, pre-planning funeral can be more flexible and comfortable for you as well as for your friends and family. 

There’s nothing depressing in arranging your funeral in advance that will take the added pressure from your family in the most stressful times. You can organize it depending on your preferences and the expenses of it happen to be cheaper when planning years before as every service becomes more expensive after time. You lock the current price and remove the responsibility from your family to worry about that part. 

It’s emotionally easier for you to make an advance arrangement for your funeral than it could be for your family after your death. It has the benefits of planning a memorial service as you wish it to be, choosing your preferred details, and making it show your personality. So don’t be discouraged by myths that funeral planning is depressing, expensive, or just for the elderly. Analyze the benefits of it and decide how it’s acceptable for you.  

FAQs 

1.  What does pre-planning a funeral mean?

Funeral pre-planning means making your funeral arrangements in advance before your death. You plan every detail yourself, making it more personalized. With it, you also remove pressure from your family in such difficult and painful times.

2. What is the process of planning a funeral?

To plan a funeral, you should start by looking for the service providers or funeral homes that take responsibility. Then you go through every detail of the memorial service with them to make sure it will be held according to your preferences. 

3. What is the word for planning a funeral?

The word for planning a funeral is pre-planning, when you make every arrangement yourself for your memorial service and plan it depending on your wishes. Taking into consideration every detail that might be connected with your personality.

4.What are pre paid funeral plans?

A pre-paid funeral is a plan made with a funeral home that’s been paid ahead of time. It means that the money has already been paid or has been kept for this purpose.

5.What do you call the pre funeral?

Pre-funeral is called the visitation, wake, or viewing. It is held the night before the funeral service or prior to it. Pre funerals provide a way for friends to honor the lost one and pay respect. 

6.What are the benefits of preplanning?

Funeral pre-planning has several benefits, including flexibility, financial expenses, etc. It also makes your wishes known, so your loved ones won’t have to worry about what would be preferable for you. Pre-planning can bring peace of mind to your family and friends’ decision-making process.

7.How soon after do you plan a funeral?

Most funerals usually take place within a week or less after death. With the help of funeral homes, a week is typically enough time to make all necessary arrangements and let everyone know about it.