Planning Ahead
Why Should I Plan Ahead?
Losing a loved one is hard enough. Add in the many logistical and financial decisions that come with arranging a funeral or memorial service, and it can feel overwhelmingly stressful. By planning yours in advance, you can remove these extra burdens from your loved ones during an already difficult time, and allow your family the space to remember, connect, and begin to heal. You also make sure your final wishes are carried out how you want—not decided through someone else’s best guesses.

By making your final arrangements ahead of time, you also save your family an added financial burden. Not only does it eliminate the difficult question of who will pay, preplanning locks in inflation-proof rates for years to come. We also offer flexible payment plans, making advanced planning a more convenient option.
SECURE ONLINE PREPLANNING FORM
Benefits of Preplanning
Planning Ahead Lets Your Wishes Be Known
The death of a loved one often brings about unwarranted stress and turmoil among families. One family member wants one thing, while another family member wants something different. By planning ahead, you help prevent those disagreements by letting your family know what your wishes are and how you want your funeral service to be carried out and your business handled.
Planning Ahead Offers Peace of Mind
Our staff guarantees we will carry out the arrangements you want, just as you directed. Once the plans have been arranged, you and your family can rest easy knowing at the time of death, those uncomfortable decisions have been made. In a time when a family should be able to easily grieve, preplanning allows for that to happen.
Planning Ahead Offers Flexible Funding Options
When you preplan your funeral arrangements, there are more options when it comes to funding the funeral. A preneed insurance policy, life insurance policy or other payment options can all be arranged before the time of death. At the time of death, services must be paid in full, so having options ahead of time can also reduce other stress related to losing someone.
Planning Ahead Relieves The Burden From Family
Following the death of a loved one, there are more than 150 decisions that have to be made within the first day or two following the death. Those stressful decisions on top of the stress of grieving a loss can be eliminated by arranging your final wishes ahead of time. If those decisions are made, your loved ones aren’t left wondering what you would have wanted and how they should proceed with funeral plans. With those decisions out of the way, your loved one can begin the healing process sooner.
How We Work With You To Preplan
An Advanced planner will work with you to create a personalized checklist and help you communicate all of your wishes and preferences, such as:
- Gathering personal information for your obituary
- Choosing a charity to direct donations to, if desired
- Making note of any special instructions for your services and final disposition
- Choosing burial or cremation
- Choosing the location and type of service
- Deciding whether you’d like to have a viewing or visitation
- Selecting music and hymns, if desired
- Selecting a style for your stationery and memorial register book
- Including any customs, traditions, or religious rites that are important to you and your family
Things To Consider
Many of these items can be arranged prior to death to lessen the stress for the family at a time when they are grieving loss.
You Can Choose & Prearrange...
- Information for an obituary
- A funeral director
- Burial or cremation
- The casket or cremation container
- A grave marker and inscriptions
- The location for the service
- Type of service (memorial, wake, military, Jewish ceremony, etc.)
- Flower arrangements
- Photos that will be displayed
- Funeral music and songs
- What the deceased will wear
- Scripture to be read
- Memorial register or memorial cards
- Transportation and funeral cars
- Who will perform the eulogy
- Who will read the scripture
- Pallbearers
Final Planning
Other items that cannot be pre-arranged, but must be taken care of following a loved one's death:
- Ambulance transfer from place of death
- Death certificate
- Burial permit
- Time and date for the service
- Embalming and body preparation
- Submit obituary
Funeral Costs
The FTC has mandated that the funeral providers must give you a statement of all costs of the funeral goods and services that you select. This is called a General Price List (GPL). In addition, the law enables consumers to select and purchase only the goods and services they want, rather than having to accept an entire package
Funeral costs can be divided into three basic categories:
1. The Basic Service Fee: Funeral providers are allowed to charge this, and it can't be declined by the family. This fee covers services common to all funerals including the use of the home, the services of the funeral director and funeral home attendants, burial arrangement coordination (with a cemetery or other), securing permits, etc.
2. Optional Service Charges: Some optional services include transporting the body, embalming, times for viewing (or wakes), use of a hearse or limousine, burial container, cremation and interment.
3. Cash Disbursements: This covers goods and services that the funeral home buys on your behalf, with your consent. It may include the purchase of flowers, clergy services, obituary notices, pallbearers and other service providers such as soloists or musicians.
