By: Viraj Shah

Financial estate planning is a chance to manage the taxes your heirs might face, determine who your heirs are, and divide up your assets and wealth among them. However, you should also consider planning your funeral. Doing so minimizes the burden your loved ones will face, lets you decide how things will be handled, and is an opportunity to pay for it in advance.

Choose a Funeral Home

Your first decision should be choosing a funeral home. Once a mortuary or funeral home takes custody of your remains, there will likely be a sizeable transfer fee to switch to another business or location. Avoid this by picking a place in advance that fits your needs and budget.

Do You Want Cremation, Burial, or Both?

One of the significant decisions you’ll make in funeral planning is what happens to your body after you pass away. You might think your options are cremation or burial, but you can do both. Cremated remains can be buried if not kept in an urn or scattered in a place you cherished or loved in life.

Consider Donating Your Body

If you want your body or any parts of it to be donated after your death, you need to establish that clearly in your funeral planning. Registering as an organ donor can save multiple lives and improve many more lives. Also, donating your body to science helps train tomorrow’s doctors and advance medical research.

Make It Your Kind of Funeral

It’s not easy to plan ahead for your death, but you might have specific ideas about how your family and friends gather to mourn you. Funerals are traditional events involving cultural and religious rituals, but a celebration of life is a more modern event that might include people sharing their happiest memories of you.

Decide on an Urn or Casket

Picking a casket or urn can be a source of contention between you and your survivors. You might want something basic and affordable to preserve more of your estate to pass on to heirs, but your loved ones could want something nice to be respectful. Making arrangements in advance can avoid this disagreement.

Purchase a Burial Plot

Purchasing prepaid cemetery plots close to other family members seems simple and convenient, but fraud is rampant. Do your due diligence to get this right, and consider your wishes regarding a potential grave marker.

Write Things Down

Think about writing your obituary to be published in the community. Create and file the legal documents necessary to clearly state your final wishes. Ensure your loved ones know what they are and where to find the required files.

Budget Everything

Prepaid options and planning help you estimate and afford burial and cremation costs. See what your insurance will cover, and create a budget.

Do It as Act of Love

It might feel morbid to plan your funeral, but it’s a tremendous act of kindness to your surviving family. They won’t have to decide or interpret your final wishes during a time of mourning when you already made arrangements in advance.

Published By: Aize Perez