Funeral Planning

Tips for Conducting A Fitting Memorial Service For Your Loved One

What are the dos and do not’s of planning a funeral, and in what order should you do them? Here are some helpful hints that are sure to be of benefit to you when the point comes for funeral planning.

After you have gotten the official word that your loved one has passed, the first phase of planning a funeral is to get a certificate of death as soon as you can. Not only will this help you begin to bring closure to your loved one’s passing, it will also help to freeze any accounts and credit cards in your loved one’s name. Identity theft is a serious problem in this country, and you do not want someone stealing your loved ones. On top of that, you also do not want annoying phone calls from these people, especially at this difficult time.

Following that, the next phase to planning a funeral is to make arrangements for the funeral service. There are several options for this. You could have the funeral at a church or other religious establishment, a funeral home, or the increasingly popular method of home funerals. Religious organizations and funeral homes can provide a beautiful venue for a funeral, made even more so when timeless funeral songs, psalms, eulogies, and all of the other aspects of a traditional service are added. On top of that, both have the added benefit of grief counseling should the need arise. Home funerals are the most cost efficient funerals to plan, and are definitely for those who prefer simplicity. Often home funerals involve merely spreading the ashes of the departed over a beautiful venue with all that are present saying a few remarks.

The next phase to planning a funeral is considering what you will say in the obituary. You should spend some time looking through your loved one’s best pictures. Then, consider what qualities made him or her who he or she was. What were the moments when you admired him/her the most? Did your loved one for example go from rags to riches? Did he/she fight courageously in a foreign war, possibly even to the point of death? Did he or she go down swinging, fighting against an incurable disease? Make sure you mention anything like this in the obituary. Should you need help writing an obituary, there are many affordable software programs. You can also get help from your local newspaper, from whom you will be purchasing it.

After that, the next important phase to funeral planning would be inviting the guests. Who were some of your loved one’s closest friends? Who were their children or grandchildren? Who are some of your closest friends? You will want to make sure to extend an invitation to as many of these as you can.

At this point in planning a funeral, you should consider more carefully the specific aspects of the service. What hymns or inspirational songs will you choose? What poems or psalms? What will you say in your eulogy? As you did with the obituary, try to consider what your loved one’s best qualities were, and let the different parts of the service emphasize those.

Assuming that you decided on burial, you should make it a part of planning a funeral. It is important that you decide which cemetery to bury your loved one at, so that the burial part of the service runs seamlessly. For some families, this step of planning a funeral is a fore-gone conclusion, as they have an entire family plot that can go back three to four generations, or perhaps even longer. For others, it may take a bit of further consideration. See how well the different cemeteries in town are kept, and how responsive they are to your needs.

After you have done this, and the service is complete, the last stage of funeral planning comes when you hear the reading of the will. Other phases of planning a funeral take money out of your pocket. This one should come as a bit of a relief, since it will put money back in. Your loved one no doubt wanted you to live comfortably. Enjoy what he or she has left you and use it to continue the traditions and legacies your loved one began.