Planning anyone’s funeral, let alone your own, is always a difficult task. It gets a lot more difficult when you consider the philosophical side of things and ponder your own mortality while having to make arrangements for when you die. To make the exercise simpler, we have prepared this condensed guide to help you with your funeral planning.
While we cannot offer any comfort as far as the concept of death and one’s mortality is concerned, we can give you the information to enable you to plan everything in a constructive manner and ensure that your loved ones are not overburdened when your time finally does come.
PAPERWORK
Paperwork is the most important element of this entire process. When you die, the law requires that your next of kin hold the decision making power to ensure your last rites are carried out and legal obligations are fulfilled. An entire hierarchy has been prescribed under the law with your legal spouse coming first, followed by your eldest adult child, then your parents, and, finally, your siblings.
The law also allows you to nominate an individual of your choice to be the one responsible to make decisions regarding your funeral and how everything is to be handled. While you can hire a lawyer to advise you, the simplest way to do this is to execute a durable power of attorney which would clearly specify the rights and responsibilities of the nominated individual.
MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOUR FUNERAL
Once you have your nomination in order, it’s time to decide on your arrangements. Where you want your funeral to take place, how many people you want there, what kind of service and refreshments, and the way you want your body treated, are just some of the arrangements to consider.
Some prefer to keep a small private gathering while others will want a lavish affair with countless eulogies and grandiosity. Some will want to be buried, some cremated, and others will want to donate their bodies to science and healthcare.
Furthermore, you also need to think about the type of funeral you want because it affects finances, space planning, dates, and other arrangements. Lots of people around the Big D are looking into Dallas Texas cremation services after doing their research and understanding all the benefits that come with it. Apart from finances, these arrangements also need to be made depending on what kind of legacy you want to leave behind.
Regardless of what you decide to do, have everything in writing and clearly define everything you want at your funeral.
INFORM YOUR LOVED ONES OF YOUR ARRANGEMENTS
Making all the arrangements is an important aspect of the process, but so is informing your loved ones. You can make all the arrangements you want but if nobody is aware of them, chances are your funeral will be according to someone else’s wishes and plans. Therefore, tell your family and loved ones how you want things to be handled once you pass on and even give someone a Xerox copy of your formalized arrangements and durable power of attorney.
ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCES
Finally, there is the financial element of all this. It is important that you pay proper attention to planning for funeral costs. Consulting with an expert will shed a lot of light on the different ways you can do this. It’s possible you may want to plan finances for your heirs as well, so it’s vital that you consult with an expert and have the right finance models in place to ensure your funeral costs are covered and your family is provided for.
