Is Pre-Arranging Your Funeral a Good Idea?
July 30, 2023
(4-Minute Read)
Pre-arranging funerals are more commonly discussed than in the past due to several factors, including a shift in societal attitudes, recognition of financial considerations, and an elevated desire to personalize funeral services and control end-of-life arrangements. But is pre-arranging your funeral the right choice for you? Please read further for a discussion of some of the reasons why it may or may not be.
Before our passing, we can take steps to ensure that our desires are accurately fulfilled through pre-planning. This helps alleviate the burden on our loved ones as they cope with often overwhelming grief. It’s a thoughtful and forward-thinking act that honors our legacy and comforts those we leave behind. Here are five positive considerations in favor of pre-planning final arrangements.
5 Reasons to Pre-Arrange Your Funeral
Personalization: Pre-planning allows you to personalize your preference for a service choosing between a traditional funeral, a more contemporary memorial service, or a celebration of life. You can select specific rituals, music, readings, and other elements that reflect your unique personality and values, ensuring your final send-off aligns with your wishes.
Relieving Burden on Loved Ones: Pre-planning alleviates the emotional and logistical burden on your family members after your passing. By making decisions in advance, your loved ones will be spared the difficult task of making important decisions and arrangements during heightened times of uncertainty.
Financial Planning: Pre-planning enables you to consider the financial aspects of your final arrangements. You’ll have the time to explore options, compare prices, and secure better deals by considering choices ahead of time. The opportunity to pre-pay for funeral arrangements is also available, which results in saving money and reducing or eliminating the financial burden on the surviving family.
Clear Communication: Pre-need funeral plans provide clear directives for your final wishes. For example, consider the aftermath of your death if you’ve broken with family tradition by selecting a pre-paid cremation service. Charged emotions could create misunderstandings and disputes among surviving family members. Pre-arrangements minimize the chances of disagreements about how the funeral or memorial service should be conducted.
Peace of Mind: Knowing that final arrangements are taken care of can provide peace of mind. Pre-need funeral plans enable individuals to face their mortality with acceptance and confidence, knowing that their wishes will be honored and their loved ones will be spared the stress of making difficult decisions during an emotional time.
Additional Considerations for Funeral Pre-Arrangements
While most people find comfort in pre-planning their funeral arrangements, others find it challenging. For instance, you could argue against pre-planning your funeral because thinking about and discussing such matters in advance can feel morbid, macabre, and uncomfortable. Confronting your mortality is a naturally discomforting topic that makes death seem too real. But talking about something isn’t predictive that it will happen; otherwise, we all would have won the lottery by now. Therefore, having that conversation and putting it to bed tends to neuter the fear and awkwardness.
Another apprehension about pre-arranging is a concern that personal preferences or circumstances will change, so it’s better to keep your options open until later. But first, death can be sooner rather than later, leaving you woefully ill-prepared. Second, change is a constant in life, but today’s funeral plans are flexible, responsive, and accommodating to every circumstance.
Finally, you might fear that a pre-arranged service can burden loved ones. “When the time comes, they’ll know what to do,” you might assert. The logic of this assertion is that a pre-planned service may be too stringent and will force the hand of your survivors to choose specific options, such as cremation, which they may find disagreeable or offensive. While that may be conceivable, most survivors of a deceased are overwhelmingly grateful for clear directives they can follow.
Get Started With Pre-Planning Services at The Arlington Memorial Gardens Funeral Home
Overall, pre-arranging your funeral is a personal decision everyone should consider thoroughly. At Arlington, we believe the plusses overwhelmingly outweigh the minuses. Recent consumer research seems to indicate that most people agree. In a survey of 4,500 consumers, 72% indicated that pre-arrangements are a priority, a strong endorsement for pre-arranged funerals. If you would like to discuss pre-arrangements, our funeral directors at The Arlington Funeral Home will gladly meet and consult with you to provide as much information and help as you need.
