Planning your funeral—let alone thinking about it—is not something many of us want to worry about. However, there are a number of reasons to preplan.
Preplanning is when you arrange a funeral or memorial service prior to one’s passing. Though somewhat difficult to consider at first, making final arrangements beforehand helps:
While preplanning is the first step to alleviating the emotional and financial burden of surviving family, it’s part of a larger memorialization plan.
Below, we discuss memorial or headstone preplanning, and why you should consider it as you prearrange final wishes.
Although funeral preplanning and headstone preplanning are two separate processes, families can benefit from making final arrangements for both.
When you preplan for a funeral, you make arrangements for the service that happens right after one’s passing. The service typically happens within a week or so of the passing and is an important step in the grieving process, creating a space to express those feelings and start the process towards acceptance.
Likewise, headstone or memorial preplanning offers similar benefits. Though less timely than the service, a headstone or memorial creates a lasting tribute for surviving family members to visit for generations. The headstone serves as a physical gathering place for all to visit and remember the loved one.
When you preplan a memorial or headstone, you’re making final arrangements for the grave marker prior to one’s passing. This includes making decisions regarding the:
Memorial preplanning allows you to document your final wishes regarding your headstone, while involving all close family and loved ones in the decisions.
Families are sometimes unsure where or what their loved one would have preferred as a final resting place. Memorial preplanning helps prevent these important questions from going unanswered, including:
Memorial preplanning also helps alleviate some of the financial stress because it allows you to prefund your headstone and lock in today’s prices. By making decisions now, your family benefits financially and emotionally later on.
Preplanning ensures final wishes are met and relieves some of the burden families feel after the loss of a loved one.
If you’re interested in preplanning a memorial, but aren’t sure where to start, download our Memorial Cost Guide.
It will help you navigate conversations with memorial specialists, so you can better understand the process and recognize value.