Planning for your own funeral while you are still alive is never easy and sometimes emotional. Most people try their best to avoid it. But let’s face it, death is a reality and it’s inevitable. It comes to everyone. By planning your own funeral, you make things easier especially for the people you will leave behind. There’s nothing wrong if you plan to make your own funeral arrangements. Many people in Sydney do it nowadays, taking matters in their own hands. It makes more sense if you plan your funeral now because you get to make the crucial decisions. One way to address funeral costs is to purchase a final expense insurance policy to cover these expenses. Popular life insurance companies such as Gerber Life guaranteed acceptance, Mutual of Omaha burial insurance, and AARP offer policies to people between ages 0-80. If you considering to start planning your funeral, here are some essential things you need to remember:
What happens to the remains?
This is the most significant decision you’ll ever make. You need to pick whether you want to be cremated, buried or donated for medical or scientific purposes. Cremation is the process of burning the dead body until ashes are the only thing left. A higher number of people are opting for cremation because they find it convenient and practical to take care of the ashes than the dead body. Others also don’t like the idea of decay; that’s why they opt for cremation. Some choose this process because of their spiritual beliefs. Usually, cremated remains are buried on the ground. There are cases that ashes are kept in an urn and family members kept them or scattered them. Burial, on the other hand,is the most common process. Once a death certificate is issued, the dead body can be buried. Burial sites include public cemetery, private cemetery or private or owned land. You have to purchase a burial plot should you decide to go for burial. Decide also on what type of casket model you want. When it comes to donating your dead body, only registered institutions such as medical school or medical and science facilities. They are allowed to house a body for the purpose of training of the medical students or for medical research. If you choose this, the medical facility and you should make an arrangement as to what to do with the remaining parts after the body is used. Mostly, the institutions will meet the cost of the cremation or burial. Whatever process you decide to choose, it’s vital that you let your family be informed of this. If you are not comfortable in letting them know, you can write it in a letter or put it in your will. By doing so, unnecessary stress can be avoided during a difficult time.
Details of your funeral or your memorial
Typically, funeral services are held in a funeral home or chapel. But if you have a place that you like and is suitable for memorial services, it’ll do. You can look for several funeral services company and talk with their funeral director and even check their facilities. You can set your choice of residential style whether you want a gathering after the burial or before. If you don’t want it, that’s fine too. You can also set if you want a body viewing or not. Are you comfortable with the idea of people seeing your dead body? Note that you can also opt for a closed casket service. Choose someone to lead the service. It can be your religious leader or anyone you choose. Make a list of people you want to participate in your memorial service. Your friends and family can participate too. They can sing songs, play music, offer tributes and make eulogy. You want to choose people who know you well. You can even ask them in advance to check if it’s okay with them to do such a thing. If you have people you want to be invited to your funeral service, it would be better to write down their names and their contact details so they will be invited when the time comes. Other elements you want to consider for the service are the flowers you want to be decorated, the music to be played, reading such as passage or poems and the photos, videos or other displays you want to be presented during the service. You can get creative by adding your tweets or blog posts to be incorporated. It would be easier if you jot down your likes and dislikes and other personal touches you want to be included in your funeral service. If you are looking for cremation services in Los Angeles, Hollywood Funeral Home offers options that meet the unique needs of each family.
Save money for your own funeral
Funerals cost money and you don’t want your family to carry the financial burden when you die. Saving money is one thing you can do. Set up a bank account intended for funding your funeral and have it released by the bank to your family or your trusted person who’ll manage your funeral only when you die. It can earn interest and can go a long way towards the expenses for your funeral. Another option is to prepay funeral expenses by getting funeral insurance through a trusted funeral services in Sydney. You can make monthly or quarterly payments. The good point about this is you can pay ahead for the total expenses and lock it in, so you can avoid the risk of price increase in the future. To help you understand the insurance, talk with a funeral director about the details of your planned funeral. If you are not comfortably prepaying your funeral, you can have a policy under your life insurance to be designated for your funeral expenses.