Why Planning Your Funeral Is One of the Most Loving Things You Will Ever Do

One of the most preventable tragedies after death is the administrative burden on a grieving family during the time of making urgent arrangements for the funeral. Experienced providers like Funerals with Grace help people who have realised this and decided to make a difference, as planning a funeral is not a morbid exercise. It is one of the most heartfelt things you can do for the people that you love.

What Grief Actually Looks Like in the Days After a Death

Most people are not well-suited to make complex decisions in the days immediately after a death. Grief is disorienting. Sleep is disrupted. The mind continues to stretch out for the one that is missing. Then comes the need to make a series of urgent, unfamiliar, and costly decisions regarding arrangements that most people have little or no experience in making. What kind of service? Which funeral director? Burial or cremation? Who speaks, what music, what readings? Each question must be answered, and the people answering the question are doing so without the one thing they need to know: what the person who died wanted.

What Advance Planning Removes From That Experience

If a person has made arrangements for their funeral, the family’s role is entirely different. They are not making decisions in the dark; they are doing what they know the person wants. They are not guessing at what their loved one would have wanted; they are following a clear record of expressed wishes. They are not facing the financial burden of an unexpected funeral on top of everything else they are dealing with; rather, they are operating within a plan that has already been put in place and, in many cases, already funded. The planning takes away the cumbersome aspects of an already cumbersome experience.

Why People Resist Doing It

The vast majority of people who have not planned their own funerals have not done so for one of a handful of reasons. When you aren’t ill or struggling with your health, it can feel too soon. It involves facing a topic that most people don’t like to discuss head-on. And planning for death can seem like an invitation to death. All of these concerns are valid. But none of them outweighs the fact that the planning will have to take place at some time, and that if it takes place in advance, in calmness and with full choice, it will make a huge difference to those who will have to deal with it.

What a Good Plan Captures

A thoughtful funeral plan reflects the wishes that make a goodbye truly meaningful. The nature of the service and whether it should be religious, secular or a combination of both. The desired location and desired atmosphere. Any music, readings or rituals that have special meaning. Any elements that should specifically not be included. The individuals who would make a difference. When these details are carefully recorded and placed where the right people can easily find them, it provides the family with the permission and guidance to develop a goodbye that truly represents the person being remembered.

The Financial Dimension

Over several years, the cost of funerals in the UK has increased dramatically. Average funeral costs are now in the thousands of pounds and are rising. A prepaid funeral plan ensures that the expenses of the funeral are fixed at today’s prices, so that increases in the costs of future services will not be a hardship on the family. For many people, financial protection is as important as practical and emotional protection. When you’re aware that the costs have been covered, one of the most practically stressful parts of making arrangements at short notice is eliminated.

The Farewell You Actually Want

Funeral planning is more than just protection and functionality. The funeral service designed by the person it celebrates has the greatest opportunity to be a true reflection of the person’s life. The music that really resonated with them. The tone they really liked. The words of those who knew them best. A generic service prepared in a rush, with no input from the person to be remembered, will not have the same effect as a planned farewell. The final expression you have is planning your funeral. It’s also a gift to those who loved you, so that when it’s time, they can authentically say goodbye.

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Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.