Thinking about your own funeral arrangements can be hard. But when you preplan, you give yourself peace of mind by considering all your options and planning services that are unique to you. Below are a few more reasons why preplanning might be right for you.
Preplanning Your Own Funeral Services Is Easy
When you preplan, you give yourself all the time you need to make the decisions that will make your funeral services special. Our funeral directors will make sure you have guidance every step of the way. Getting started is as easy as filling out a form, or calling us.
Preplanning Relieves The Burden On Your Family
If you’ve ever had to plan a funeral for a loved one, you know that it can be difficult. Not only do you have to quickly make important decisions, but you’re also weathering the grieving process. It can feel overwhelming.
Preplanning your funeral services ensures that your family will never have to shoulder this burden. When the time comes, all they will have to do is call us. They can then focus on their grieving journey, and finding comfort in your funeral services.
Preplanning Allows You To Make Your Funeral Your Own
One of the most poignant things you can do for your family is make your funeral services a reflection of your personality and life experiences. When the time comes, they will feel as though you are there with them. This gift for your family can be a deeply meaningful way for them to connect with you one final time.
When you preplan, you can decide exactly what you want, from the types of services to the photographs you’d like displayed.
When you preplan, you can decide exactly what you want, from the types of services to the photographs you’d like displayed. You can plan the tone and decorations for your services, the catering, who you’d like to deliver eulogies, and anything else you feel is important. You can even write your own obituary. And when you involve your close family and friends, you can take their needs into consideration, too. Don’t worry about changing your mind later. You can always make changes for any reason.
No matter which method you use to make plans in advance, the process is always the same. We recommend you approach your final arrangement planning step by step, using the following four D's: Deliberate, Document, Distribute, Delegate.
Deliberate
While so many of us ask big questions about what happens when we die, we often forget to ask questions that will capture the way we lived and help our friends and family celebrate our life and honor our memory.
Take time to deliberate about the type of funeral and cemetery services that you would want to celebrate or otherwise memorialize your life. Consider the setting of the funeral and where you want it held. Is there a cemetery you are fond of or a specific church you had in mind? Answering these questions will help you begin to make the funeral and cemetery selections that are right for you.
Document
Once you’ve reflected on and determined your wishes for your final arrangements, actually documenting your wishes is the best way to ensure they will be carried out. Whether stored on paper or electronically, your recorded wishes will allow your loved ones to act on your behalf. And, just as you keep your will and financial documents updated, you should review and update your funeral and cemetery plans if necessary as well.
Distribute
After you’ve recorded your funeral and cemetery plans, it’s important to distribute the information to a loved one or confidante. Keep your funeral plans safe but accessible. It is a good idea to notify your family of its location or provide them with their own copy.
Delegate
Finally, support your plans with funding by delegating a portion of your savings to your funeral arrangements. By relieving your family of the need to pay for your funeral or cemetery services upon your death, you can prevent additional stress for them at an already difficult time. Funding your plans also protects against inflation. By locking in today’s prices, your loved ones won't have to pay more for your chosen merchandise and services at the time of your death and will only be responsible for any increases in outside cash expenses, like cemetery fees, flowers, and newspapers.
The best way to delegate funding is through an understanding of your payment options. Pre-paying for your funeral can be done many ways and over the course of many years. Sometimes people pay with a check or credit card, other times people pay by making the funeral home the beneficiary of an insurance policy. Using life insurance is a great way to pay, but there is one drawback in that the funeral home prices are not guaranteed. Discuss with your funeral professional if it makes sense to take the “cash value” of your policy and put that into a secure trust with the funeral home.
It’s important to work with your Chapman Funerals & Cremations representative to understand the laws and regulations that protect preneed funds in Massachusetts. When you fund your preplans with Chapman Funerals & Cremations, you can rest assured that your funds are safe and secure.
No matter what your wishes are for your funeral and cemetery plans, recording them and sharing them with your loved ones will help ensure that your final arrangements will be what you want, while easing the burden on your family and friends.