Why Preplan Your Funeral

							Why Preplan Your Funeral?
There are many reasons to consider pre-planning a funeral. The most important is
because you do not want your loved ones to have the added pressure of making a decision
under very difficult circumstances.

Also, by pre-planning a funeral, it also lets you choose exactly how you want to be
memorialized, providing you the "peace of mind" that those you love know your personal
preferences in all aspects of the funeral service.

Although this was not a common thing to do many years ago, there is a growing number
of people who are being much more proactive when it comes to pre-planning a funeral
for some of the reasons such as:

o They have recently experienced the many difficult decisions that are involved in the
process through either a loved one, close relative, or friend

o They have become more educated on this process, learning about the multiple benefits
that come from helping their loved ones avoid the uncertainties and challenges that
accompany this funeral planning process

o They realize they have specific wishes and preferences, and wish to ensure they are
accomplished. This gives them time to review all the different options, and be sure they
include all the specific items and details they would want

o They realize that the cost of planning a funeral can be a big factor. The average cost of
a funeral is approximately $7,000. (NOTE: These approximate funeral costs do NOT
include many things such as cemetery space, head stones, the cost of a urn, etc.)

o They wish to help their family, friend, and loved avoid the unnecessary pressures
usually involved in making a time-sensitive decision when having to plan for a funeral.
One of the increasingly more important aspects of financial planning is creating an end-of
life plan in advance. In considering your plan, below are some of the many key issues to
consider:

o Creating a Will
o Determining what is most appropriate, a Will or a Trust
o Creating a Living Will and Advanced Medical Directives
o Developing a quick and easy "first steps" plan for your loved ones
o Organizing all your important documents
o Make sure all your important documents are in one easy-to-find place
o Preparing for Guardianship issues and Special Needs concerns
o Estate and Legacy Planning
o Ensuring your loved ones have quality Financial Professionals to help
o Assigning a Personal Representative
o Protecting your assets against lawsuit, income and estate taxes, divorce, etc.
o Assisting your children in carrying out your end-of-life plan
o Establishing you funeral plans and arrangements

As you can see, because there are so many difficult, expensive, emotional, and time-
consuming challenges in pre-planning a funeral, I strongly encourage you to seek the help
of a Pre-Planning Specialist. These specialists can be found very easily by using the free
National Directory at http://www.funeralresources.com.

Christopher P. Hill, Founder of http://www.funeralresources.com