All too often, when someone dies, their loved ones are left uncertain of what their loved one wanted their memorial or funeral service to be like. This leads to extra stress and worry about the choices that they’re forced to make and can raise a host of disagreements about the course of action to take between different family members with contrasting opinions.

So, which challenges must families face after the loss of a loved one?

Service Type

Choosing the right service type for your loved one can be the biggest challenge facing any family after a loss. Would they have wanted an intimate gathering with just a few chosen people? Or would they have wanted a full-on traditional service? Perhaps they would have preferred something completely unique and alternative to reflect their personality and interests?

Should it be a religious service or a secular one? Will the deceased be cremated or buried and if the latter, will they be going into a cemetery plot or crypt? If the former, how will their ashes be dealt with? Will the remains be shared out? Buried? Interred? Scattered? Turned into jewellery? The options may seem endless and overwhelming for loved ones to choose between at such a difficult time.

Shopping Around

Even once the service type has been decided upon, the matter of choosing a funeral director still remains. Will you simply use the nearest local provider or will you seek out a funeral director who can provide something a little different? It’s important to compare services, products, prices and customer satisfaction before choosing the right option for your loved one. Again, this can be extremely challenging at the emotionally charged time of dealing with a loss.

Arranging Payment

Once the best choice of funeral director has been made, we’re onto the sticky subject of payment. Who will be paying for the funeral up front? How will you raise the money? Is there an insurance policy and if so, who will benefit? Will the estate cover the costs, and if so, who will make the upfront payment before recouping the amount at a later date?

The Benefits Of Pre-Planning

It’s clear to see that arranging a loved one’s funeral is never going to be easy, whether you’re doing it alone or with other family members. It’s difficult to cater to everyone’s preferences and beliefs, and all too often, the wishes of the deceased get overlooked or were simply unknown in the first place.

Pre-planning and making financial provision for your own funeral in advance is the best way to eliminate these challenges for your loved ones. You can be certain that everything will go according to plan and according to your wishes while your loved ones will be relieved of the additional stress at this trying time.

By pre-planning and even pre-paying for your funeral, you can give your family the confidence to make decisions about your final arrangements since it will already have been made completely clear what you wanted. As a result, there will be fewer disagreements and fewer challenges for them to face following their loss.

By taking the time to clarify the key points and to get your wishes written down, your loved ones’ questions can all easily be answered, as long as you share your decisions and choices with your family members directly.