For anyone, having to plan the funeral of a loved one can be the biggest challenge they’ll ever face. Losing a close family member is always difficult no matter the circumstances, but as you’re struggling with the grief and loss, you’re often then expected to have to make a host of important decisions at the same time as having to find a considerable sum of money at short notice to cover the costs of the arrangements.

When it comes to planning a funeral and making appropriate arrangements, here are some of the biggest challenges that we may face when no pre-planning has been put in place.

No Idea Of Wishes

When faced with having to arrange a funeral for a loved one, it often becomes painfully obvious that we have absolutely no idea what our loved one would have wanted. A surprising number of people are unaware whether their family member would even have wanted to be cremated or buried, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Add into that the stress of having to choose a coffin, cars, flowers, readings, music… it’s easy to see why it’s such a worrying time and why family disagreements can get out of hand.

Time Is Of The Essence

Not only do these important decisions have to be made, they usually have to be made as quickly as possible. This leads to an even greater burden of pressure and can result in loved ones feeling guilt as a result of having made a rushed decision that they weren’t particularly happy with.

Mounting Costs

The cost of arranging a funeral in the US is on the rise, and has been steadily increasing for over a decade. The upfront payments can amount to thousands of dollars and that’s a lot of money to have to find in a hurry, especially if you have limited savings. This results in loved ones having to borrow money, use credit cards or take out loans, putting themselves in financial difficulty.

The Wrong Person For The Job

All too often, the best person to plan a funeral for their loved one is often least able to cope with the stress at the time, and that means that someone who isn’t especially suited to the task may end up taking over and making all the important decisions. This can lead to disagreements and even more difficulty in coping with the grief as family members feel cheated of the best send off for the deceased.

The Difficulty Of Taking On Board Everyone’s Preferences

It’s rarely the case that there’s only one person charged with the task of arranging a funeral. More often than not there are multiple friends and family members who have differing views, opinions, preferences, religions and beliefs.

All of these problems can be resolved by putting in place a funeral plan which covers all the costs of the funeral and makes known the deceased wishes long before the event takes place.

By making sure that your wishes are well known in advance, you can be confident that your loved ones will be freed of the burden of making these hard decisions and spared the extra worry and stress of having to plan the funeral and find the money to pay for the arrangements at such a difficult and upsetting time.