6 Common Funeral Planning Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
If you are planning a funeral for a loved one, certain decisions can hinder your progress. Here are common funeral planning mistakes and how to avoid them.
There are more than 2.4 million funerals that take place each year. And with those millions of funerals that have occurred, there have been quite a few funeral planning mistakes. If you’re planning a funeral for your loved one, the last thing you’re going to want to do is make any of these mistakes.
Don’t worry because we’re going to help you avoid these mistakes at all costs. You’re going to find a list of some of the most common planning mistakes and ways that you can avoid making them.
Read on now before you make a mistake and have to worry about undoing it.
1. Not Planning Your Funeral Before You Pass
No one likes thinking about the inevitable, and that’s understandable. But, when you don’t take the time to plan things like your funeral before you pass, you can leave your loved ones with a difficult burden while grieving.
Before you pass, ensure that you’ve taken the time to sit down with a funeral director and begin pre-planning. This is when you make all of your last wishes known. This will include the details of the funeral service to what you’ll wear and more.
During this time, you can also begin the process of making payments to the funeral home for the use of their services. Another thing you should think about during this time is writing your will, which will document how your assets will need to be split amongst friends and family members.
This will alleviate those that are close to you from fighting over your belongings once you’ve passed. And once you’ve done all of this, the next thing you need to do is talk to your family.
Leaving them in the dark about the wishes that you’ve made will only cause further chaos and pain when it’s time for your preferences to be put into action.
2. Not Saving Money
The average funeral, including the burial, is around $8,500, and we don’t know about you, but that’s expensive. Instead of waiting to pay for a funeral after someone has passed, begin saving well in advance.
Again you’re not going to want to leave your family with the burden of figuring out where they’re going to get the money from to provide you with a proper funeral. That could cause strain that is made worse by their grief.
Instead, saving in advance will help them cover any expenses associated with planning a funeral.
3. Select the Right Funeral Package
When you’re planning a funeral for your loved one or are making arrangements for yourself before you’ve passed, another mistake that is commonly made is not selecting the right funeral package. Most people go to a funeral parlor and shop with their eyes instead of shopping with their wallets.
Before you begin looking for the funeral package, you need to be upfront with the funeral director about how much you’d like to spend. After you’ve let them know how much money you’re going to want to spend, they can then move forward with helping you make selections that will fit within your price range.
They’ll help you choose how you want your funeral to go and the length of your program and the casket you make. Not thinking about your budget before selecting a funeral package will cause you to spend more money than you want to spend.
4. Not Making Your Wishes Clear
We dedicated a sperate space for this one because of a lack of communication can cause more confusion than you know. If you’re planning someone’s funeral or your own funeral, you’ve got to ensure that you’re communicating with everyone.
When you don’t communicate, it will cause problems that you don’t want to deal with and can leave you making choices that won’t work for anyone, including the person that’s being buried.
5. Not Including Information on the Funeral Invitations
When it comes to invitations for funerals, you’re going to want to ensure you include all of the information about the funeral. Including:
- Where the funeral will take place
- How to RSVP
- Time of the funeral
- Information about the deceased
Ensuring that you’ve included all of this information will make it easier to plan how much food for guests you’ll need for the repass. And alleviate any frustrations when it comes to having people ask you questions about the invitations.
6. Allow People to Disturb the Funeral
When you’ve started the funeral, that’s when the doors need to close; there is nothing more disruptive than allowing people to come in and out of the funeral while it’s going on. Ensure that those attending the funeral understand once the funeral begins, if their late, they will have to wait until another pause in the service to enter the service.
To ensure this rule is enforced, you need to have ushers standing at the doors that understand how the service is to proceed and allow latecomers in when it’s appropriate.
Funeral Planning Mistakes to Avoid
When it comes to funeral planning mistakes, there are various ones that you should avoid making, if possible. We understand that mistakes happen, and there are times when they can’t be avoided, but trust us, it’s going to be easier and less frustrating when you plan ahead and carefully avoid the mistakes above.
If you’re looking into making plans for the future, contact us at La Vista Memorial Memorial Park & Mortuary to make your accommodations. We can help you with everything from pre-planning to the day of plans, including the flowers.
Make things easier and let us help you get everything done and reduce the amount of stress that you feel.
