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Funeral Planning Ahead of Time
By Sean Schopf
Most people don't like to talk about, or even think
about, dying or preparing for their funeral. But as you
grow older, you think about it more and decide that you
should take that burden away from your family and
friends.
So let's start by deciding if you want a regular service
with open casket, visitation, etc., or cremation? How
would your family feel about cremation? Most funeral
homes require that you have a signed release from all
family members for the cremation process.
Now, you've decided you want a regular service with all
that entails. Contact the funeral home you want to use
and set up an appointment. They will help you with the
arrangements and should be able to answer your
questions.
You also need to choose the cemetery where you want to
be laid and find out what kind of memorial stone is
allowed there. Some cemeteries only allow flat stones
and some still allow the traditional upright memorial.
Once you have chosen the cemetery and the plot, you need
to decide if you want the memorial placed now or later.
If you pay for the memorial stone now, you can avoid the
rising costs in future years. Also, many undertakers
have "contracts" which you can buy now and everything is
designated to be done at the time of your death and you
pay for it now--thus avoiding rising costs.
You also can choose "perpetual care" which means that
your plot will be maintained through the years for a
nominal cost. And the memorial stone you choose can have
a flower vase, two flower vases, or no vase, as you
choose.
If you want to be cremated, there is a different
process. You can have an open casket, but you will have
to purchase a casket just as you would if you were
having a regular service. At least in Iowa, the law
states that you can no longer rent a casket for a
memorial service.
Many funeral homes now are also crematoriums. So if you
have chosen one of those, they will be happy to make
those arrangements for you and include them in the
"contract."
Once you have made these arrangements, it will be a
simple process for your family at the time of your death
and they can concentrate on the "celebration of your
life." They will be eternally grateful to you.
Thank you for reading our article on pre-planning a
funeral [http://www.funeral-planning-online.com/funeral-planning.html].
Please visit our website to learn more about funeral
planning [http://www.funeral-planning-online.com/]. |
