Preplanning: Taking Charge of Your Own Funeral

There are many reasons to preplan your funeral, from mitigating costs to making your funeral easier for your loved ones upon your passing. But one important aspect of preplanning your funeral is establishing your wishes and setting them in motion. This article will explore your wishes when preplanning your funeral.

Choosing the Right Funeral Home

Choosing a funeral home is an important first step in preplanning. Generally, you should pick one local to your community, or hometown, if you would like to have your funeral back home. The funeral home you choose should be easily accessible by highway, for those driving in. You should also choose a funeral home that has a good reputation and has been around for a long time. This can help you ensure the quality of your service. 

Burial or Cremation

Most people have some idea of whether they want to be buried or cremated. There are many choices surrounding both options. From choosing a casket or urn where you’d like your remains to go, and whether you want your cremated remains buried. Your choices matter, and the funeral director assisting you with preplanning can help you make the right choice for you and your wishes.

Eulogies and Services

When preparing your funerary wishes, you can instruct the funeral director to contact your church or other religious organization to provide a service if you wish. They can also contact specific next-of-kin to request that they prepare some words. This can take the pressure off of your loved ones to handle this aspect of the preparations. 

Choosing Floral Arrangements

Some individuals decide on certain floral arrangements for their service. Often, certain family members should purchase flowers. Rather, you can purchase them in their name, and arrange for them to be paid for by you ahead of time. This cuts out a lot of the onus of choosing an arrangement and putting the cost on your loved ones. Alternatively, you can instruct your funeral director to instruct mourning loved ones to donate to charities close to your heart in place of flowers.

For over 50 years, Matthew Funeral Home has been serving the Staten Island community. We can help with almost every aspect of your loved one’s memorial service. Our family is here to serve yours, every step of the way.