No one likes thinking about death, and the idea of actually pre-planning your funeral may hold even less appeal. But, that day is coming for all of us, and doing so is a good idea on many fronts. Here are just a few reasons to consider doing so.
Taking Responsibility
Dealing with the death of a loved one is a very traumatic experience, and imagine how much burden will be lifted off your family if your funeral has not already just been planned, but paid for as well. This is a responsible action that ranks right up there with creating a will and estate planning.
Locking in Today’s Prices and Eliminating Financial Burden on Your Family
Even the most basic of services can run thousands of dollars, and you don’t want to place this financial burden on your family during such a difficult time. You also have the advantage of locking in today’s prices, and protecting against inflation. If you are like many people, you may be wondering about what happens if you prepay for a service, and then end up moving? Well, no worries there. According to South Carolina-based Shuhr Funeral Home, most prepayment plans are fully transferrable to a different funeral home. Just make sure you have a full understanding of how this works. For example, there is usually a minimum distance requirement to allow for a transfer.
Eliminate Guesswork and Conflict
Many people may think the idea of preplanning a funeral is unnecessary because they will be gone, and what will it matter to you what your funeral is like? But, most families will feel very compelled to do what you would have wanted, and not knowing can be very distressing. With preplanning, there is no need to worry about this. This will also eliminate conflict that tends to occur when the family is left to plan the services and has different ideas of what is right, or what you would have wanted.
The Ultimate Personalization
By taking an active role in planning your funeral, you can influence every aspect of it from, songs to readings, and any other details that are important to you personally.
Steer Clear of Emotional Overspending
By having outlined exactly what your funeral will be like, and it already being paid for, there is no risk of emotional overspending by the family. When left to plan a service on their own, it is easy for family members to fall prey to emotional overspending by buying unnecessary additions to your service.
Time to Compare Value and Quality
Preplanning a funeral allows you the time to investigate your options. You can contact different funeral homes to compare quality, price and offerings to find the best fit for you. This ‘comparison’ shopping is not really an option when a family is tasked with planning a funeral, nor is it something you would want them to be doing anyway.
There are many good reasons to preplan a funeral. Whether you want to reduce stress on your family or make sure your final wishes are carried out as you want them to be, don’t delay.