Planning Your Own Funeral

Have you thought about planning a funeral?

Funerals are often a topic that people don't like to think about, but the reality is that not only will your funeral take place someday, it's likely that before that happens you will have the job of planning the funeral of one or more of your family members. Taking the time to understand what is involved in choosing a funeral home ​and planning a funeral can help you make the right choices for you and your family members.

Is a funeral compulsory?

While many people want to hold either a religious or secular funeral service to remember the life of someone they have lost, there is no legal requirement to do so. If you prefer you can arrange for the body of the deceased to be taken directly from mortuary to the cremation or burial. What does need to be completed is the death certificate and all other legal forms relating to the body of the deceased. The funeral home will be able to help you with these documents since they know what papers need to be completed and where they will need to be sent.

If you prefer not to use a funeral home then you can make the arrangements directly with crematorium or cemetery, but many of these places do have policies in place that only allow them to accept bodies from a funeral home and not the general public.

Choosing a funeral home

If you decide that you would like to use a funeral home then you can choose whichever one you prefer. Don't be afraid to ask them for itemised quotes so that you can see exactly what is being included in what you are charged. While there are some fees, such as the funeral directors fees and the death certificate which you can't avoid, many things are optional so make sure that you only pay for the services that you want. Extras such as flowers can be expensive additions, but you can always decide to take your flowers to the service or to simply avoid flowers entirely if you prefer, there are no fixed rules and you can adapt the arrangements to suit your family.

Taking the time to think through the arrangements for the funeral in advance will help you to plan a funeral that is memorable for the right reasons and can be a fitting tribute to the family member you have lost.


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