How To
Preplan Your Funeral Step-By-Step | GoodTrust
Why preplan your funeral?
It sounds morbid but it can be incredibly important and save others the time-consuming effort. There are usually two types of funeral preplanning: unfunded planning that incorporates only information about the funeral event without funds put aside to pay for it, and pre-funded planning, which accounts for services and assets engaged upon by the funeral home.
For various reasons you may decide to preplan funeral arrangements in order to achieve someone's wishes, will, and directives before passing away. In addition, it may relieve some of the mental, emotional and financial pressures from families following someone's death. How to preplan your funeral?
Once you decide to preplan your funeral, there are are four primary considerations:
Will and testament: as a first step, acknowledge your family and loved ones about your will (get started with the free will tool from GoodTrust). Inheritance issues may sometimes occur after passing away and even test family bonds. Make sure to clearly explain to your family your will regarding the heritage and other specified wishes when you are alive.
Funeral directives: In your funeral plan, you may have medical and funeral directives. Be sure to share your wishes regarding your funeral whether it will be followed by burial or cremation. What about the location? Include the way how to announce your death, what will be included in the announcement, the date of your funeral and other specifics around your funeral and memorial. Create your Funeral Directive and Medical Directive TODAY!
Service manager: Choose your funeral director, agree about the funeral details and how it will be arranged. If needed, your funeral manager may also advise you and suggest recommendations. They might even help you choose the right music or readings.
Funeral ceremony and memorial service: Acknowledge the details regarding the funeral ceremony and specifics around your funeral and memorial. In case you hire a service manager, establish clear tasks of your family members to avoid overlap and interference with the funeral agency.
The Funeral Day: Quick Tips To Consider in Your Funeral Flan
The funeral day is mostly the biggest day after your death. Here are six tips you may consider while making your plan:
Specify type of service: Choose either a traditional funeral that is followed by burial and includes a casket (open or closed) or a memorial service that expects a gathering or service without the casket. If you wish for a funeral followed by cremation you should also mention it.
It's important to personalize your wishes and make your funeral an unforgettable memory; think of flowers, music, words, etc.
Set up a date (think of the period after your death) and a final rest where you wish to be buried. Such information gives time to the ceremony attendees to prepare for their arrival. You can also prepare a list of commemorative event attendees.
Estimate the financial costs, the payment of your funeral and final expense insurance. As such, your family members will not be in a trouble regarding the funeral costs (remains transport, a casket, grave maker, etc.).
Make clear your will, living will, Power of Attorney, and any other advanced directives and transmit them to your family to specify both unfunded and pre-funder wishes.
Specify who will be the main contact of the funeral home. This helps to arrange the funeral correctly.
Have you thought about your digital assets?
With the advancement of technology, people think more and more about the digital afterlife and what will happen to their digital assets after passing away. When you make your funeral plan think about how your Facebook friends would interact with your profile after your death. Or what would be the end of your company's websites and all the social media pages related to it? Would you also want to include a livestream of the funeral?
Nowadays, digital legacy services can easily do the job and take care of all your digital assets. These platforms suggest options to securely manage your online afterlife, enable you to preserve your valuable memories and assure they are properly managed according to your wishes (for example, check out GoodTrust Memories).
Don't forget someone's digital legacy In your funeral plan, be sure to provide specific instructions regarding what happens to your social media accounts once when you pass away. For example, you can decide to delete your Twitter or Instagram accounts, memorialize them or even extract data (e.g. photos). Get started with your Digital Vault TODAY!
What about an option to send a message to your loved ones after passing away and share best wishes or greetings? That's now possible when you preplan your funeral with GoodTrust Future Messages. Imagine your daughter receives your birthday wishes five years after you have passed away - think of it as a bittersweet surprise.
GoodTrust can help you take care of anyone's end-of-life needs. Learn more about how to take care of someone else by clicking here.