3 Tips for Pre-planning a Funeral

Posted on: 29 May 2018

Making funeral arrangements is an unpleasant task that individuals will often want to spare their loved ones from having to go through. If you are currently in the process of needing to make your own funeral arrangements, there are several tips that can help you to handle this task so that your survivors will not have to do it.

1. Obtain Formal Quotes From the Funeral Home

As with any other major purchase, there are benefits that can come from comparison shopping. Each funeral home will have its own pricing structure and specials. This can result in you potentially saving considerable amounts of money on the cost of holding the funeral. Unfortunately, it can be extremely difficult for individuals to keep track of the various costs and packages that they can choose. For this reason, you should bring a notepad to write down any information and request a copy of the formal quote. This will allow you to easily compare the offerings of various funeral home.

2. Keep the Funeral Plan and Contact Information Updated

If you pre-plan your funeral, it is necessary to ensure that your survivors are aware of these plans. As a result, you may want to include a section in your will that outlines these plans for your survivors. Periodically, you should review and update this section to reflect any changes that have occurred with your funeral plan. This will include changes that you have made to the plans along with other unforeseen changes, such as the funeral home getting a new phone number. Ideally, these updates should be performed each year so your survivors can have accurate information when they are planning your funeral ceremony.

3. Pay for the Funeral When It Is Planned

The costs of holding a funeral can quickly become rather high. Not surprisingly, this is often a source of intense strain for families as it can be a sudden and major expense. By taking the initiative to pay for the funeral at the time that you pre-plan it, you can spare your loved ones from having to suddenly come up with the money to pay for these expenses. To help make paying for pre-planned funerals easier, many funeral homes will allow individuals to break up this cost into a series of smaller payments. In the event the funeral must be held before the total balance is paid, the remaining balance will have to be settled before the funeral can be held. Be sure to include a copy of the payment receipts and invoices as proof of payment for these services.

​Talk to a local mortuary about pre-planning a funeral today, and keep these three tips in mind.

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