Beginning to plan for your funeral can feel uncomfortable, and many people put it off. Yet preplanning helps ease the “what if” and many of the other questions that families are faced with in the midst of grief. By preplanning, you can ensure your wishes are honored and give your loved ones peace of mind. At Gerst, we have walked alongside many families as they manage all the steps of arranging a funeral after losing their loved one, and we have seen what a meaningful difference preplanning can make. Here is a comprehensive guide to preplanning, including its benefits and how to get started.
What is preplanning?
A lot goes into planning a funeral, including providing personal information, burial preferences, ceremony details, payments, and legal arrangements. Preplanning allows you to make decisions in advance and gives you time to consider all your options. By connecting with your preferred funeral home, you can meet with a funeral professional who will walk you through the steps. Anyone at any stage of life can preplan and make changes at any time. Preplanning lets you create your unique life celebration. By including your family in the planning process as well, you can help them feel connected to you both in life and death, knowing that your arrangements reflect your desires. The goal of preplanning is to alleviate your family of that burden and give them more time and energy to focus on healing and remembrance.
Preplanning checklist:
- Personal information
- Final resting preferences
- Choosing a casket or urn
- Cemetery arrangements
- Type of service and location
- Music, readings, and tributes
- Visitation and reception plans
- Burial clothing and personal items
- Obituary details and announcements
- Financial plans and payment options
- Insurance and benefits information
- Legal documents and estate planning
- Family contacts and decision-makers
- Selecting a funeral provider
When you preplan, you can decide how detailed you’d like to be. Some people outline specific ceremony details or requests, while others focus on the essentials, such as burial preferences and legal information. No matter how much you choose to include, documenting your wishes will help reduce stress and uncertainty for your loved ones.
What Are the Benefits of Preplanning?
Less financial strain
While pre-arranging your funeral is free and incurs no additional costs, you can also choose to prepay. This helps reduce the financial strain on your loved ones in the event of an unexpected loss. Preplanning shields them from the burden of coordinating finances while grieving. There are several ways to pre-fund a funeral: you can deposit a lump sum, make payments in installments, or purchase a specially designed insurance policy that covers these expenses.
Relieve stress
Planning and financing a funeral can be stressful, and doing so while grieving and carrying the weight of wanting to honor a loved one properly can feel especially overwhelming. Preplanning your arrangements offers meaningful relief, giving your family peace of mind knowing the details of your end-of-life celebration are already in place.
In the days following a loss, loved ones are tasked with numerous decisions and an overwhelming list of responsibilities. By prearranging even general details, such as gathering your personal information and outlining your burial preferences, you can significantly reduce the pressure of last-minute decision-making. Preplanning allows your family to spend less time managing logistics and more time supporting one another and beginning to process and heal.
Preplanned arrangements are transferable
We frequently hear: “I am not sure where I’ll be in a few years.” Often, location and an unknown future prevent individuals from taking steps to preplan their funerals. At Gerst, we document your preferences, arrangements, and any prepayments so you can easily transfer them to any funeral home throughout the United States. No matter where you are or when you begin the preplanning process, you can document your wishes and take care of your arrangements—giving yourself true peace of mind.
Creating a meaningful funeral
A funeral can feel weighty with the pressure to make it perfectly honor the deceased without knowing what they would want. By preplanning, you can relieve your loved ones from that burden and ensure the funeral is meaningful and reflects your legacy. Preplanning helps start important end-of-life conversations with your family, and creates a funeral plan that honors you best.
How do I get started?
Taking the first step is often the hardest part. Whether its uncomfortable to talk about or simply keeps getting pushed down on your to-do list, getting started can seem overwhelming. At Gerst, we support families through one of the most difficult seasons of life, and one way we do that is through our preplanning services. We’ve made the process as simple and stress-free as possible. Fill out our form or call to schedule a time to meet with our Pre-Arrangement Specialist. You can choose to meet at our funeral home or in the comfort of your own home. We offer compassionate guidance to help plan a meaningful service that honors your wishes.