Tips to Ease the Burden when Planning a Funeral

Planning a funeral, a memorial service or a celebration of life is never easy. It is, however, a task that most people will encounter at some point in their lives. We’ve come up with three common funeral challenges that you can avoid making, whether you're preplanning a service for yourself or after the loss of a loved one.

Challenge #1: Exploring Funeral Providers

It is believed, based on surveys by groups such as the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the four primary reasons respondents selected a particular funeral home include previous experience at the funeral home; they already knew the funeral director; the location; and its reputation.

We believe that choosing a funeral home should be similar to any other service you pay for and it is important to compare funeral providers in your area. This might save you money and help you locate "the best" funeral home, crematory or cemetery for your needs. The costs involved with burial and cremation services can vary quite a bit depending on where you go, and often you will receive the same products/services.

Challenge #2: Education

Focusing on anything other than the loss of a loved one is difficult during this time. Unfortunately, many people must still plan the funeral or cremation service, which can involve making a lot of decisions. Being in a state of grief can cause you to make quick decisions without exploring all the options available to you. Whether you are planning a funeral in advance or after a loss, you should ask every question you have about the service.

The Boyd Funeral Home provides a wide range of resources to walk you through each step of planning a service for you or your loved one. We have many online resources and we have knowledgable and friendly staff that are here to answer all your questions and never make you feel rushed as you make your arrangements. With Boyd Funeral Home you can be confident that the service you choose will be right for the person.

If you are making arrangements after the loss of a loved one, it's recommended and perfectly normal to ask someone you trust to attend the funeral arrangement conference with you if you think you're not up to it alone. It never hurts to have another opinion before you commit to something.

Challenge #3: Communication

Pre-planning your own services can be a difficult subject to communicate to your family and loved ones. According to the NFDA, 62.5% of consumers feel that it is important to share funeral wishes with family members, but only 21.4% did so in 2017.

One way to take the burden off others is to pre-pan your own funeral. This will allow those loved ones to not have to deal with the additional stress of planning a funeral while also grieving.

Some people may just choose burial or cremation or casually mention their desires and think that's all that's needed. Grieving family members may not remember what you said you wanted or disagree about what they think you wanted. By documenting your plans with a funeral home—and letting your family know—you eliminate the confusion and take the burden off your family.

By keeping these common challenges in mind, you can avoid unneeded stress while planning arrangements for yourself or a loved one. There are lots of options to choose from, so do some research and find the best option for you and your family. Learn more about beginning the planning stages of a funeral service by calling the funeral home at 740-382-2115.