A funeral is a gathering of family, friends, and other loved ones who want to honor the memory of that person and begin the process of grieving. It is essential to plan ahead so that you can make this process as easy as possible for the people you leave behind.
Pre-planning is a great way to ensure that your family will have a funeral that reflects your wishes, but you may be skeptical about pre-planning. Pre-planning for a funeral is a fairly easy process, and there are several benefits to following through with it. Here are five reasons why you should consider pre-planning for your funeral.
You’ll Save Money
If you take the time to shop around for a funeral home, you can compare costs and get a better deal. Funeral homes often charge about half as much for caskets and headstones as you buy them elsewhere.
You’ll Make Things Easier for Your Family
After someone close to us passes away, we are often overcome with grief and unable to focus on anything else. Because funerals happen so quickly following a death, this often means that we dive into planning a large event made possible by our loved one’s life (funeral costs can easily surpass $10,000) while simultaneously struggling to deal with enormous grief. The more of your funeral that you plan out in advance, the easier it will be for your family to focus on supporting each other instead of searching for caskets or calling funeral homes.
You’ll Reduce Family Conflict
If you have not made clear the details of your funeral wishes, your family may argue over those details. Even if you are sure of your burial and cremation preferences (or vice-versa), grief can cloud memory, so take time to record those wishes before they are needed. The same holds true with smaller funeral decisions, down to specifying which songs you would want to be played or which charity people should donate to. Each decision that you make (and record) in advance is one fewer decision that your family members will need to make, and one fewer split decision that could cause tension.
You’ll Be Able to Ensure That Your Wishes Are Met
Many people have ideas about what they would like to see happen surrounding their death, whether they want to bury their bodies and mourn their loss on religious grounds or have a lively celebration over their body. Planning your funeral in advance will ensure that the things you find most important, and which are important to your loved ones, will happen.
You’ll Be Able to Plan Better
Funerals can be expensive, even when you do your homework and take time to figure out exactly what to order. The most basic service will cost thousands of dollars. By planning for your funeral in advance, you’ll know exactly how much everything will cost and how to pay for it. Now that you know how much you’ll need, consider buying life insurance or putting the funds in a bank account that only you will have access to after your death.
Conclusion
We hope this article proves to be useful when it comes to helping you see the benefits of pre-planning for your funeral. While it may seem rather tedious, making the necessary preparations as early as possible will help you and your loved ones in the future. Be sure to keep everything you’ve learned here in mind so that you can make the most informed decisions possible.
Evergreen JAX is a funeral home, cemetery, and crematory that’s been serving the Jacksonville community since 1880. We make it our mission to provide a peaceful and caring place of remembrance for your loved ones who have passed on. If you’re looking for cremation storage options, let Evergreen JAX help you find the perfect resting place for your loved one’s ashes. Contact us today to learn more about our memorialization options.
