4 Simple Steps to Preplanning

We plan for important life events like weddings, college education and retirement. We insure ourselves against things that may happen, including vehicle accidents, personal injury and medical emergency but, what about planning for the inevitable?

When you die, your loved ones may be overwhelmed by grief and emotion. In most cases, they will be at a funeral home or cemetery mulling over paperwork, pondering questions they may not know the answers to and stressing over the details of your memorial – or wondering how they are going to pay for it all. Planning together avoids painful guesswork when a death occurs suddenly and everyone's minds are clouded with confusion and grief. Purchasing your funeral at today’s prices can also protect your family from inflation in the future. People prearrange to give themselves and the people they love peace of mind.

Now, doesn’t that make sense?

Getting started is simple. We’ve broken the process down into 4 steps – Reflect , Record , Select and Share .

Step 1: Reflect

The first step is to spend some time reflecting on what is important to you.

How do you want to be remembered? When your family and friends share their memories of you, what are some of the things that they’ll say? How might your cemetery memorialization reflect your hobbies and interests? What are your family traditions and customs, and how might they influence the type of service that you would like to have for yourself or your loved one? What type of meaningful memories can we capture to help tell your story for future generations?

Step 2: Record

After you’ve made some decisions about your service, the next step is to Record your information.

To help the families we serve, we have created a helpful Planning Guide that can help you record your wishes and make them known to your loved ones. There is a section in the Planning Guide where you list your preferences and instructions. Filling it out will ensure your family knows your precise wishes. Once you’ve completed this section, we encourage you to bring it back to us. We will make copies of information that pertains to your service and file it for safekeeping so that your family will have the information when they need it.

Step 3: Select

You will need to select the services and merchandise you would like as well as determining the funding option that is right for you. We can work with you to provide options for covering the financial aspects of your arrangements. Like all expenses, funeral and cemetery costs continue to increase over time. Coming up with cash quickly when a loved one dies can place a burden on loved ones and add to the stress of loss.

By supporting your plan, you can potentially save your loved ones thousands of dollars. And planning doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money – or any money at all. Some choose to fund their entire arrangements through savings. Funding through specialized funeral insurance allows you to select an affordable monthly payment and receive coverage for the full amount of your plan, even if death takes place while you are still paying. There are many options to consider with the help of licensed and trained advisors. In the process, some consider their existing life insurance policies but keep in mind, the initial purpose of life insurance was likely to cover expenses left behind, as well as provide funds for the living. Life insurance proceeds also takes time to collect. Most funeral and cemetery providers require payment at the time that services are provided.

Step 4: Share

Talking to your loved ones about funeral and cemetery planning can be difficult, but it’s important to discuss the plans you’ve made. Keep copies of your prearrangement documents in a safe but accessible place. Make sure others who may have assisted you in your planning, like family members or religious, legal or healthcare advisors, know where your documents are filed.