Planning Your Own Funeral
When it comes to funerals
many of us don't like to think about them. Today, more and more
people are changing the way they think and find that it makes a lot
of sense to pre-arrange their funeral or join a prepayment plan.
Throughout our lives we plan for almost every financial eventuality
we may face - pre-arranging and prepaying our funeral can also help
to relieve your family of emotional and financial worries when the
time comes.
Thinking about your own funeral plans may seem odd to some but
it is on the increase as a practice. More and more people are
realising just how helpful it will be for a grieving and stressed
family to know the funeral wishes of their loved one.
- According to the Australian Funeral Directors Association,
about 15% of all funerals are now planned.
- In the United States, the numbers represent over 40%.
- Here, the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ)
advises that around 5% of funerals are planned by people who want a
say in their own funeral, and this is increasing each year.
You can have the peace of mind that your wishes are known and
that you have made arrangements for them to be carried out. As many
funeral directors will tell you, it is not unusual for the grieving
family to be unaware of the deceased's funeral wishes.
Pre-arranging and prepaying your funeral means your wishes about
how you'd like things to be at your funeral are known and are
respected.
You may wish to take the time to download and complete the attached form, and
place it somewhere safe, or, if you want more information,
My Life, My Funeral is a planning kit
to help with this growing practice. It has been developed with the
wide collective experience of members of FDANZ and is available
from any FDANZ funeral home. In the kit, you will find a set of
helpful and informative brochures:
- Organising My Funeral discusses
various reasons why people choose to plan their own funeral. It
provides helpful information on this growing and thoughtful
practice.
- My Personal Information and Funeral
Choices is a guide to the various parts of a funeral
and the service that you might wish to make decisions about. Many
of the options are noted to assist you with your choices. These
will help your family when it can be hard for them to think
clearly. There is space to list the people you want informed and
their contact details. Provision is also made to note your personal
and family details required by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and
Marriages. Your lawyer, accountant, banker and any other
significant people or organisations concerned with your life and
your estate can be included here too.
- The My Notifications checklist prompts you to
list the organisations and people who should be advised of your
death. They may include the library, Automobile Association, clubs,
subscriptions and so on, so your family can let them know to
discontinue further contact.
To obtain a free My Life, My Funeral
planning kit, visit or telephone your local FDANZ funeral
director.