Planning Ahead for your Funeral

Most (if not all) funeral homes will help you plan your pre-need funeral. For seniors, I believe that pre-planning a funeral is a good idea.

First, think about where you wish to be buried or with to have your ashes buried. If there's a particular place you want, buy it now. Burial plots are real estate. Each is unique, and each is valuable to other possible buyers. There's only room for one person there, though. If you want a particular spot, but it before someone else does.

Second, plan the funeral. Ignore the money for now, and think about the funeral. I suggest visiting the funeral home of your choice and working with a staff member on a pre-need funeral checklist. These checklists are a good place to start because most of them are quite comprehensive, meaning that the checklist already includes most of the items a person might want to consider. Use the funeral home's checklist to guide you through making the numerous choices that make up a funeral.

The checklist will probably include your choice of casket, flowers, music, minister (or other person to preside over your funeral service,) hearse, limousine, burial or cremation, graveside services, clothing, etc. It's your funeral, plan it to be the event (or non-event) that you want it to be.

The casket can be tricky. Unless you intend to pay for the casket immediately and take it with you, the casket of your choice my not be available when you need it. The manufacturer may not produce it anymore. I suggest writing down the make and model of the casket that you want (in the hope that it's available later). I also suggest taking photos of the casket (inside and out) so that your family can find a similar casket if your specific choice isn't available. Attach the photos to the pre-planning checklist. Put a copy of the photos with your important papers (will, etc.) too. (I can't take credit for the idea of photographing the casket of your choice. Unfortunately, I can't acknowledge the person who first made that suggestion to me because I can't remember who it was).

In addition to the funeral home arrangements, you may want to consider the social activities (if any) that will accompany your funeral. For examples, many families have a lunch after the service. Some families have a New Orleans-style wake with food, drink and music. Decide what you'd like, and include it in your planning.

Finally, figure out how much it will cost. Add up the various items that you've chosen, and find out how much you need to set aside to pay for the funeral you want. If you want to pay less, make adjustments in the plan.

One remaining question is where to put your money to pay for your funeral. That is a more complicated question than it seems at first. I'll write about that in the near future. 

For more information about long term care issues, visit www.ProtectingSeniors.com

This information is provided by The Koewler Law Firm, whose mission is "Protecting Senior's Life Savings" TM

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