One of the best ways to make funeral planning a little bit easier on the whole family is to stay true to traditions while also respecting the wishes of the deceased. If you or a loved one has decided on cremation, you’ve taken a great first step in saving on funeral costs, providing a more green funeral approach, and in holding true to your own beliefs.
However, choosing cremation doesn’t mean you are choosing to fly in the face of tradition. Thanks to great options in cremation urns, you can combine the more traditional aspects of burial arrangements with cremation to plan a funeral that meets everyone’s expectations.
If you’re funeral planning for a loved one, you’re going to come across a lot of different choices. Where do you want the memorial service held? What cemetery have you chosen for the interment of the final remains? Burial or cremation? In the most ideal cases, these questions will have already been answered for you via a pre-need funeral plan or the express wishes of the deceased. If not, you will hopefully have the support of other relatives and a funeral director you trust to help you make the right decisions.
If the deceased wished for a traditional burial, you will also need to choose a casket. This is one of the most personal purchases you will make during the funeral planning process, as it will become the final resting place of the deceased. And one way to make it even more personal is to go beyond the traditional options to choose a custom casket for sale.
Of all the casket options available while you are funeral planning, perhaps one of the most nontraditional is the do-it-yourself casket. With options ranging from full casket kits to blueprint plans that you can download right onto your own computer, caskets can come in literally any shape or size.
While this option certainly isn’t for everyone, you can save money and even work through some grief issues when you build a casket at home.
The thought of spending time on funeral planning is not generally a fun one, but by taking the opportunity to engage in what is known as “pre-need funeral planning,” you can take a significant burden off of your loved ones when the time comes. In addition, you have the reassurance of knowing that things will be done the way you want them done. Your funeral plans can be as general as you like, basically paying in advance for a casket and cemetery plot; or you can work out the smallest details such as what funeral flowers and musical arrangements you would like at the service.
A list of what is involved in funeral planning can provide a good place to start own. Most people are completely surprised at the number of details that go into planning a funeral. The vast number of questions to be answered can completely overwhelmed family members who are simultaneously dealing with the loss of a loved one. This is another reason that pre-need funeral planning is so helpful.
Funeral planning in advance is a great way to save your loved ones time, money, and much of the burden of decision-making. However, like most large decisions, it’s important to take the time and preparation necessary to ensure that you make choices that will benefit everyone you care about – after all, the number one reason people choose funeral planning is to make sure that things are easier for the family left behind to grieve and mourn.
The top five considerations when creating a funeral pre-plan include:
1. Know your funeral planning options. There are many different types of funeral pre-plans out there, including funeral insurance, burial plot purchases, and fully covered funeral programs. You will want to determine what type is right for you and consider the pros and cons of each before making a decision.
Of all the funeral planning options, one of the more popular is funeral insurance. It is similar to funeral pre-plans, in that you are making preparations to cover funeral costs well in advance of the time of death. However, instead of tying up your funds at a particular funeral home or for specific services and funeral goods, you are simply setting aside a pre-determined sum of money that your family can then use to defray some or all of your eventual funeral costs.
Why Choose Funeral Insurance?
Like life insurance, this is a policy that allows your beneficiary to cover funeral costs from a large payout that occurs at the time of death. The number one benefit is saving your loved ones from financial hardship in covering all the funeral expenses. (more…)
One of the best times to start funeral planning is before you reach retirement age. Although you might be a long way from thinking about where you want to be interred or how much money you would like to put into your funeral arrangements, funeral planning is a lot like retirement planning – the earlier, the better.
When is the Best Time to Start Funeral Planning?
Ideally, you should start funeral planning some time in your 40s or 50s. By this point, you will have already set aside some money for retirement, and you are in the type of stable situation that makes it possible to direct even more funds toward estate planning and funeral planning. You’re also more likely to have a good idea of where you’d like to be finally laid to rest, and will have an understanding of the different options (cremation, burial, body donation) and what each one will mean to your family.
If this seems a little early to be funeral planning, the good news is that there are all different types of funeral plan options. (more…)
Whether you are pre-planning a funeral or making decisions for a loved one who recently passed away, one of the items you’ll come across on your funeral planning checklist is a burial vault or grave liner. These items are typically offered by the cemetery (as opposed to the funeral home), and help to ensure that your loved one’s remains are protected against early decay and to keep the cemetery grounds level and well-kept.
What Does a Burial Vault Do?
Also known as a “ burial container,” burial vaults are large box-like structures that hold the casket underground. They can be made of everything from steel or copper to concrete, and are designed to keep moisture and flooding out of the casket for as long as possible through a strong airtight seal. This not only slows down the decay process, but also to increase the overall aesthetics of the cemetery. That’s because many cemeteries find that caskets buried directly in the ground tend to show “ sinkage” over time, as the dirt around the casket becomes flooded and weighted down.
Burial liners are very similar to burial vaults, but instead of encasing the entire casket, they cover only the top and sides and don’t have a hermetic seal.
Burial vaults add a touch of elegance to burial arrangements, as a coffin dropped into a vault is often a very touching and beautiful sight that accompanies the graveside ceremonies. These vaults also allow you to further personalize the funeral, since you can choose materials and designs based on your loved one’s wishes. (more…)
One of the leading sources for good, factual funeral information is the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), which is the world’s leading funeral service association at almost 20,000 members nationwide.
Although most individuals going through the funeral planning process aren’t likely to need the NFDA to help them make decisions, the organization does have an impact on what choices you have. By overseeing the body of funeral home directors and providing a basic core of ethics that they must follow, consumers are the ones who benefit.
The NFDA recently released a 2010 report on funeral costs. According to their findings, the national median cost of a funeral is $6,560, taking into account costs associated with different locations as well as with the quality of materials purchased for the funeral. This figure includes:
One of the most important decisions you will make during funeral planning is which grave plot to choose as the final resting place for either you or a loved one. Cemetery plots are actually one of the top funeral planning decisions made prior to death, since many people feel very strongly about a particular location or about being near those they love. Family plots, for example, are often part of a long tradition in which you make burial arrangements in accordance with land that has already been purchased. And because the cost of “real estate” in the funeral industry tends to go steadily up, making your gravesite purchase years in advance can save tens of thousands of dollars down the road.
How Much do Grave Plots Cost?
Like real estate in the residential and commercial aspect, where your grave plot is located will play a big role in how much it costs. Most burial sites start at around $1,000 for single plots, and can go up to tens of thousands of dollars from there. Historic cemeteries, sites on hills or exclusive areas, and large plots big enough to fit families for generations may cost even more, especially if you’re in a big city or in a location where green land is hard to come by.
One of the best ways to make funeral planning a little bit easier on the whole family is to stay true to traditions while also respecting the wishes of the deceased. If you or a loved one has decided on cremation, you’ve taken a great first step in saving on funeral costs, providing a more green funeral approach, and in holding true to your own beliefs.
