It probably comes as no surprise that funerals aren’t free. From fees for legal documents to cremation or burial costs, to the various details of a service for family and friends, losing someone you love costs more than heartache. No one wants their family to have to bear the financial burden of their funeral arrangements. It’s understandable why many people tell their spouses or adult children not to have a service for them when they die. They believe that direct cremation or “just scatter me somewhere nice” will save their loved ones from more heartache and stress.
Except—it doesn’t. Unfortunately, a wife’s good intentions and a father not wanting to burden his children may end up doing more harm than good. “They’ll know what I would have wanted” without actually mapping out what was really wanted doesn’t save a family from more grief. It can, in fact, exacerbate it.
In reality, ambiguity and dismissal of the topic of one’s own death only adds to what will already be a very stressful time for your loved ones. You’ve probably not spent much time contemplating your own funeral (how fun is that?), but you should. Whether you want a modest, intimate ceremony or a traditional funeral with all your friends and family, planning ahead could save your family money and unnecessary grief when the day comes.
Funeral costs vary greatly. The total price depends on what type of ceremony or disposition (the final handling of a person’s remains) is involved and what kind of details a family chooses to include. If you’ve never helped plan a funeral before, you’re probably unfamiliar with just how many details can go into a funeral and the rising costs associated with each.
Planning ahead could save your family money and unnecessary grief when the day comes.
Funeral preplanning is just that—planning and paying for your final arrangements while you’re still alive. This ensures that your family won’t have to think about or plan anything, nor will they have to pay for it. When the day comes, they will be freed up from making a hundred decisions, won’t have to stress about money, and can focus on what’s most important – dealing with their own grief and being with the people they love.
When you make advanced arrangements, your funeral plan policy is protected and held in a funeral trust account until the time of your death, guaranteeing that it will be available at the time of need. Almost all of your arrangements are guaranteed and locked in, protecting you from inflation in the future. (The small percentage that remains that we cannot guarantee are items that Chapman Funerals & Cremations does not regulate, such as cemetery costs, death certificates, newspaper charges, and other fees associated with vendors outside our funeral home.)
Even if the cost of your funeral won’t be a strain on your loved ones, planning a memorial service, funeral or celebration of life can put added emotional duress on an already grieving family. Sitting for hours making decisions about casket or urn selection and writing an obituary with a funeral director, or searching for items like social security numbers, discharge papers and birth certificates can feel exponentially more difficult when you’ve just lost a loved one. Even the simplest arrangements require a multitude of required details to be sorted out, and can be exhausting for the bereaved.
When a person’s final wishes were never discussed or planned ahead of time, we often see family members disagree with what their loved one would have wanted. This unfortunately can lead to arguments over details and added strain during what is already painful time. We see this often, especially when blended families are involved.
Planning your final arrangements in advance with a funeral home not only saves your family from having to do it, it guarantees that your final wishes will be met. After all, it is your funeral, and you should be remembered exactly as you want. Taking the burden off your family will make sure they get to do just that.