Why you need to share what you want to happen when you die

Things to consider when planning a funeral service is a paid collaboration with Beyond. Losing a loved one is heartbreaking and frankly horrible. I have been in the position of organising both my parents’ funerals, thankfully neither on my own and it was really hard work. I have been going to write this post for the last month, but a couple of close friends have died and frankly I didn’t feel up to it, However, it also reinforced the fact that it is so important to share what you want to happen when you die with your loved ones and close friends.

My friend Cass from The Diary of a Frugal Family has done a couple of fab posts lately one on planning a funeral and one on what to do when someone dies, which are both worth reading.

I first became aware of just how important it was to know someone’s wishes after my Father died in an industrial accident in 2000. We thought that we all knew exactly what my Dad wanted and we pretty much did, but as he was younger than my mum he (and us) had always assumed that she would die first and some of his wishes were dependant on that which made things a little more challenging.  After my Dad died my Mum made it really clear what her wishes were and also put some of them in her will which made organising her funeral after her sudden death much easier although we had no idea that the funeral providers would want approximately 50% of the costs upfront.

Since then the husbeast and I have been really clear with each other what our wishes are.  We have also written them down in our will so that should anything happen to both of us they are available for whoever will plan our funerals.

Things to consider when planning a funeral service

• Burial or cremation
• Type of coffin – I want an ecological coffin.
• Type of service and where we want the service to be.
• Do we want an additional service at the graveside or crematorium?
• Flowers or donations
• Music
• Is there any specific readings wanted?
• Religious preferences
• Do you want pallbearers?
• Do you want the body to be viewed?
• Do you have any specific requirements regarding a wake or food etc?

The good funeral guide is a great place to find out more information.

Having both of my parents die when I was relatively young I have realised that a funeral if often really comforting for the p[eople left but also it can be a real financial burden.  Recent research by funeral price comparison website Beyond has found that Independent funeral directors are charging as much as £2,000 less than the UK average and £2,600 less than one of the major chains.  With burial and cremation fees on the rise, and one in nine bereaved families struggling to cover the cost of a funeral, finding a good value funeral director is more important than ever.