Eventually we all will face the loss of someone we love … and, in time, those who love us will face our loss.
There can be no more personal and life changing experience than losing someone we love. The loss of a loved one brings with it many unanswered questions, difficult decisions and unforeseen expenses.
Pre-planning your burial wishes for the people you love is far more compassionate than leaving the overwhelming decisions associated with a death to those left behind. The first steps to effective pre-planning are gathering your thoughts and ideas and then designing a plan which reflects those desires. Your planning should address three areas of concern. One is the practical issues survivors will face in those first few days after a death, like “where is the will located” or “what insurance policies are in force”? The second concern is the funeral/cremation issues, like “should your wedding ring be left on or removed”, “should we choose cremation or burial” or “what cemetery or funeral home should be contacted”? The last area of concern addresses the emotional comfort issues that will help bind the family together rather than tear them apart. Combined, there are literally hundreds of questions that need to be answered. Most of these questions will be easy for you but very difficult for those you love the most…particularly when they are saddled with heavy hearts, time restraints and financial uncertainty.
Benefits of pre-planning for you and your family:
- Insures your individual wishes are known
- Gives you a chance to personalize your life event as a tribute to the life you lived
- Spares your family from making decisions at a difficult time
- Can remove financial and emotional burden from those you love most
- Can freeze costs at today’s prices, eliminating inflation and providing significant savings
- Eliminates the factor of indecision experienced by many grieving families
- Allows families to focus on comforting one another during their time of need
Most of us prepare for the possible … the misfortunes of life that seldom really happen. Why not prepare for the inevitable? No one intends to compel their family to make decisions alone, while confused and in grief and while faced with unusual expenditures and unfamiliar responsibilities….
However, at every person’s death, the proper disposition of the remains becomes someone’s responsibility…. If not you … Who?
Plan your arrangements now, calmly and sensibly without the pressures of time, money or grief. You ensure that someone you love will never have to make these decisions alone on one of the worst days of their life.
Be responsible and do the right thing for those you love and gift yourself with “Peace of Mind.”
Article provided by:
Dan White, Northern Territory Manager
Abbey View Memorial Park by Washelli
Kevin Smith, Manager
Lifetime Celebrations by Washelli
