Benefits of Pre-Planning

Pre-arranging for your funeral is a good decision for many different reasons, many of which simply aren’t considered until they’re brought to your attention. If you’ve ever had a loved one pass away and been responsible for the funeral arrangements, then you may already know that these periods can be extremely stressful on survivors for both financial and emotional reasons. When you pre-arrange the funeral, you help to remove much of that stress, and you give those that loved you a chance to grieve, remember your life, and take the appropriate actions.

In this article, we’ll review four of the benefits of pre-arrangement, as well as look at how pre-arrangement can make the lives of those you love easier after passing. Just as in life, we would never want to think that our death will be a burden on others, which is why it is so vital to ensure that you not only pre-arrange for your funeral, but that you do so through the right funeral home, and the right directors.

Choosing How You’ll Be Remembered

We all put a lot of time and attention into the way we look and present ourselves every day, but very few people put a lot of thought into how they’ll be remembered at the time of their passing. For some, it may just be a fleeting consideration of the legacy that they’ve left behind, and for others, it may simply be a brief meditation on any regrets of choices or actions taken.

The truth is that there is a lot to say after a life has ended, and that you’ve spent your entire life filling in those details. From the hobbies that you loved, to the experiences that you cherished, to the passions and pursuits that gave you a reason to get out of bed every day, every person is their own story; an entire book of details, hopes, victories, and wishes that we don’t always have the luxury of knowing and passing on to others.

If you would like to give future generations, and loved ones, something to truly remember you by, then pre-planning can allow you them to celebrate your life in a way that truly reveals all that there was to make it worthwhile. From charitable causes that you fought to champion, to the most important events in your life, you can choose from a wide range of different ways to bring out the true essence of who you were, and how you effected the world and those around you, giving them both closure and a new perspective on their own lives.

Easing the Emotional and Financial Burden for Loved Ones

A little known fact: There are over 70 different details that need to be attended to within 24 hours after a death. Very few people have the mental fortification to attend to that level of work immediately after the death of a loved one, much less without any sort of list or guidance.

When you decide to pre-arrange for your funeral details, you make those first 24 hours one of reflection instead of great stress. Instead of the added burden of making last minute funeral arrangements, contacting friends, deciding on a location, and trying to find the financial funding, pre-arrangement takes the weight of your funeral off of their shoulders. With capable planning and the right attention to detail, you can take care of the entire funeral itself with very little responsibility on your loved ones.

Taking care of the arrangements yourself also ensure that they will not be financially burdened when the time comes. Because death is rarely anticipated with any form of accuracy, this level of assurance can mean that your family will rest more easily knowing that your funeral arrangements are being seen to without having to take a loan or borrow money through other means. For both the financial and the emotional tolls that an unplanned funeral can take on loved ones, it’s all the more important to take care of any necessary details as soon as possible.

Funeral Costs are Rising – Protect Your Family by Pre-Arranging

Inflation effects every aspect of life, so it should be no surprise that it can effect the costs of death as well. Funeral costs go up every year. Services, materials used in the creation of a coffin, plot costs, and other financial considerations can all rise through the natural course of inflation, so it’s all the more important to start putting money into an account for pre-funding now. With interest, you may even be able to match some of those costs so that they don’t get ahead of your total, pre-funded amount.

Let Your Family Know Your Final Wishes

Pre-arrangement means taking the guess work out of funeral planning, and reducing the chances that your family may argue over what you would have really wanted. By pre-arranging your funeral, every benefits by removing the stress of the actual funeral planning and putting it into your own hands. It means that you will have the freedom to have your funeral handled on your own terms, and it also means you will have far more options as to how the actual funeral itself will be carried out.

More Information

To learn more about what’s involved in pre-arrangement, see our Pre-Arrangement Checklist. We provide many of the important details for a proper pre-arrangement, including:

• How your obituary will be handled.
• Charities that you may want to donate to.
• Selection of music.
• Type of funeral service.
• Emergency contacts.
• And more.

If you have any questions about pre-arrangements, the funeral directors at Sherman’s Flatbush Memorial Chapel, Inc. can provide you with consultation and insight into the entire pre-planning process, including information and statistics on funeral, and experiences that we have personally had with families who chose to pre-plan a loved one’s funeral. You may be surprised at just how many benefits there are to arranging a funeral well before a time of passing, and just how affordable it can be.