Questions to Ask When Pre-Planning Your Funeral

Pre-planning your funeral may seem strange, but it is a practice that can help you and your family in the future. People often see pre-planning a funeral as morbid, similar to how many people feel about creating a Will. Pre-planning can help you secure your wishes while reducing the financial impact of a funeral upon your death. This article will discuss some questions to consider when pre-planning your funeral.

Why Pre-Plan Your Memorial?

Before we discuss good practices for pre-planning, we should first look at why people do it in the first place. When someone hasn’t pre-planned their funeral passes, their loved ones must make the decisions regarding the funeral in their stead. Pre-planning helps alleviate that burden from your family. Moreover, you can help ensure that your wishes are properly met. 
Additionally, pre-planning allows you to pay for the funeral ahead of time. This helps reduce or remove the financial burden from your family. Ultimately, it can be difficult for your family to deal with these decisions and their financial impact while grieving. Pre-planning helps remove these responsibilities from them so that they have less on their plate.

What Do You Want To Do With Your Remains?

It may feel morbid to think about how you want your remains to be treated. There are several decisions and costs that go into each option. The most common choices for New Yorkers are burial and cremation.

Burials

Burial in a cemetery is the most popular choice for remains. Burials include choosing a casket and a cemetery for burial. Designing a monument stone is often a part of choosing the burial process. Some people may also choose to be buried in a mausoleum. You can opt for a private mausoleum or be laid to rest in a public one.

Cremation

Cremation is the process of reducing the body to ash. Some people choose to store the ashes in an urn, while others wish for the ashes to be scattered. Additionally, some people prefer for their remains to be stored in a columbarium. This is a mausoleum, or part of one, with niches to store burial urns. These urns are often sealed behind memorial plaques.

Should You Make Your Choices Based on Price?

While price can certainly be an important factor in your plans, it is also important to choose what feels right to you. Because you can pre-pay for your funeral over time, costs can also be less cumbersome. Ultimately, pre-planning helps minimize the financial burden of the memorial service on your family. Payments before your death help reduce costs down the line for your loved one. 

What Would Your Loved Ones Want?

While your wishes are a big part of pre-planning, you may want to consider your family's wishes, too. For instance, you may want to consider a cemetery close to where your children or other family members live. If you live far from the rest of the family, it may be a good idea to make your resting place accessible to them. If your family is of a different faith from you, you may still want to include rites that more closely align with their needs, in addition to your own. While your wishes are valid and important, it can still be nice to help your family cope with their grief by supporting their wishes to the extent you feel comfortable with. 

When Should I Discuss Funeral Plans with my Loved Ones?

While it is good to pre-plan your funeral, it is important to discuss these plans with your family. It is important to do this so that they know to follow your plan. Inform your spouse, partner, or other immediate family members that you pre-planned the service. You should also let them know which funeral home you have pre-planned with. Do not leave your wishes in the Will. The Will is usually looked at after the deceased is laid to rest. 

Matthew Funeral Home does not provide medical, legal, or financial advice via articles. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, financial, or medical advice.

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.