Planning for your funeral

When someone dies, it's a time of sadness. Yet there are practical things that need to be done – some of them simultaneously and quite soon. This can be very painful when grief and emotions are at their highest. You can help ease the strain on those left behind by planning your funeral in advance – and making sure that funds are available to pay for it. It's a practical and sensible thing to do – just like the making of a will. It will give you some peace of mind about the future and help let your loved ones know the important things you want to happen.

Choosing a funeral director

Try to talk to as many people as possible about funerals to get their opinions and the benefit of their experiences. Consider visiting a number of funeral firms and inspecting their facilities. If you already know what you want, you can find out if they can meet your needs – and what else they can offer. You'll probably end up choosing the funeral director with whom you feel most comfortable.

Consider the funeral director's:

• experience
• ability to answer all your questions
• reputation
• price
• value for money

Other considerations when planning your funeral

Consider:

• earth burial
• above ground burial
• cremation
• caskets
• urns
• flowers or donations?
• donation of body or organs for medical research?

Your funeral service

While there is no legal requirement to have any kind of funeral ceremony and no legal statutes governing what form any ceremony should take, it's likely that you'd like some kind of funeral service. If so, there are a number of considerations that are often left for those left behind – but you could decide to plan:

• music - organist, CD or live musician?
• individual contributions – a reading, poem or story?
• a personal item that might make the ceremony more special and help mourners to say their farewells
• a memento as people leave, e.g. a photograph

Paying funeral costs

A funeral service includes a number of variable costs, such as a funeral director's professional services, use of funeral facilities, funeral vehicles and related items, such as caskets or urns. By planning ahead, you'll be able to get a clearer idea of costs. To help pay for these costs you could consider taking out our 50 Plus plan or have a look at our other life cover policies.

Next steps