No one likes to think about death or making final arrangements for themselves or a loved one. However, pre-planning your funeral may be one of the biggest comforts you can give your family at the time of your death. When deciding whether or not pre-planning your funeral is right for you, there are three important benefits to take into consideration. The first benefit is that you have complete control over all of the planning; the second is that your family will be allowed to spend critical time grieving rather than planning a funeral, and the third benefit is that the cost of your funeral can be decided and controlled beforehand.
During the planning of your funeral, you can clearly and unambiguously state what your wishes are beforehand to make sure that it reflects your personality. By pre-planning your funeral, this last show of self-expression will be able to comfort loved ones during this final remembrance. You can be as detailed as you wish, creating a funeral as elaborate or as simple as you want it to be. Only you know your exact type of spirituality and through pre-planning, you can make it as religious or as secular as you wish. Important, personal decisions such as the decision of whether to bury or cremate a loved one often cause arguments within the family. Making the decision beforehand allows your family to come together during a difficult time rather than divide. Many people wish to have their family remember them in happy and positive ways but loved ones may not feel free to remember the good times directly after your passing. You can set the tone of your funeral beforehand, thereby giving your loved ones the permission they need to remember you in the happier times.
Pre-planning your funeral also allows your family crucial time to grieve instead of making funeral decisions in a time of stress. If you have pre-planned your funeral, the critical period right after a passing is now freed up for remembrances and acknowledging grief, important steps in starting the healing process. Your family is probably not familiar with funeral planning, and planning one within a few days can be a confusing burden. Instead of your family being rushed into making decisions, you can have the time to thoughtfully think out every aspect of your funeral, sparing your loved ones additional stress during this grieving time. Your family will take comfort in knowing that all the difficult decisions have been made beforehand by you and there is no agonizing over whether or not you would have approved of their decisions.
In addition, by pre-planning your funeral, you have control over the cost. By making decisions with a level head, not in the midst of a great loss, you are not susceptible to over spending. Family members in a time of grief sometimes equate how much they spend on funeral arrangements with how much they loved the deceased. With pre-planning, you can put a cap on the spending, and again, your family knows they are getting exactly what you wanted. Pre-planning your funeral also offers the option to pre-pay or to set aside funds for the costs. By deciding on one of these options, you can prevent loved ones from scrambling for payment during their loss when they need time to grieve.
Pre-planning your funeral can be difficult, confusing and emotional. However, there are several very sound reasons for pre-planning your funeral. Perhaps the most important reason is that you are helping your loved ones to take the time necessary to grieve when they are faced with your death.
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