You carefully selected the car you drive. You chose your home, paying close attention to every detail. And you purposefully planned out the vacations that were best suited to the needs and interests of you and your family. But chances are, you’re letting someone else decide how to plan one of the most personal parts of your life: your funeral.
It’s understandable why people don’t plan their own final arrangements. It’s difficult to think about your own death, and the thought of discussing the end of your life with your family in anything other than a joking manner can be daunting. But you probably wouldn’t let your family choose your hairstyle or the clothes you wear, and you most likely wanted a say in how your wedding turned out. Why is it that so many Americans leave one of the most particular milestones of their lives to someone else to plan?
The Fundamentals
First things first. What do you want done with your body? Do you want to be buried or cremated? Put in a mausoleum or scattered at sea? Do you want a traditional funeral with an open casket? A rosary or wake? A celebration of life following cremation? There are many fundamental questions to ask yourself first, before you start to think about more unique touches.
Make it Personal.
After you’ve figured out the basics, you can start adding the special details that make funeral arrangements truly yours. This is your last mark on the world, the way you will be honored and how you will leave a lasting goodbye to your family, friends and community. Any service can be unique, whether it’s a traditional funeral at a church or graveside, or a completely out-of-the-ordinary event. Music you loved, hobbies you were passionate about and places that held special significance are all things that can be incorporated into a memorial service. You can even make sure guests enjoy your favorite recipes by planning the catering ahead of time. An experienced funeral director or advanced planner, like those at Chapman Funerals & Cremations can walk you through all your options and help you come up with ideas that will make your final goodbye uniquely you.
Make it Happen.
Talking to your loved ones is a good start to planning the funeral you want. But it’s no guarantee they will remember or take to heart what you told them. To ensure that your plans will become reality requires an actual preplan. Sitting down with a funeral director, creating a formal preplan and paying for your services in advance is the only way to create the assurance that your goodbye will be exactly the one you want. You don’t have to pay ahead of time, but it does protect you from inflated prices years or decades down the line. And we will work with you to create a payment plan that works for you.
More you. Less them.
Putting ‘you’ in funeral is more than planning services that match your personality and preferences. It’s also taking the ‘them’ out of it. Preplanning your final wishes ensures not only that your family won’t decide every detail, it means that they won’t have to.
Losing a loved one is difficult enough. Having to decide every detail of the final arrangements can be quite a heavy burden. By having everything taken care of ahead of time, your family won’t have to do anything but be with family and friends. Removing the financial burden from your loved ones is just one more thing they won’t have to worry about when the time comes. By preplanning, you give your family a priceless gift.
The Best Laid Plans are Laid to Rest Today.
Most of us have no idea when our last day will be. Planning your own funeral today makes sure it’s all taken care of beforehand. By making plans now, you have time to think about what you want, discuss it with your spouse and children, and plan with clarity and in good health. And if you ever want to make changes in your plan, all you have to do is call the funeral home.
Chapman Funerals in the South Shore and Cape Cod areas make it extremely easy to begin funeral planning. With an online tool, you can plan from the convenience and comfort of your own home. Or you can choose any of our locations in Cape Cod and the surrounding Massachusetts area to sit with a funeral director and have them guide you through the process.