Are you currently thinking about writing out your final wishes? Are you at a loss as to exactly what things should go into this document? Although few people actually want to think about such things, laying out your last requests is an important part of planning for the future. By laying out exactly what you want, your family will have less pressure put on them during a trying time. But if you've never had to make these decisions before or to plan out a funeral for another family member, you may not know exactly what's required. Some things that you might want to put in include:
Burial location: Some people don't have a preference as to where they're buried. Others will want to be buried in a particular city or even in a particular cemetery. Perhaps you even have a plot already purchased. None of these choices is any "better" or "worse" than any other, but your family won't know which you prefer unless you communicate your wishes beforehand. Without input from you, they may decide to do something like going to great trouble and expense to have your body shipped back to the town where you were born instead of burying you where you live now.
Headstones: For some people, elaborate headstones are the best way to be remembered once they're gone. For others, a simpler burial marker is preferred. Before you make a choice either way, you may want to take a look at the pricing of various headstones so that you can incorporate the pricing into whatever savings plan or life insurance policy choices that you may have. You may find that the headstone that you wanted is way more affordable than you thought or you may find that your family would have trouble paying for it without additional money set aside. Whatever the case, it's important to note these in your final instructions.
Funeral expense payment: There are several ways that you can prepare for your funeral ahead of time. You might prepay for the whole funeral, your choice of headstones, and so on right now. The downside of this is if you happen to die while traveling or after you've moved to a different town, having your body shipped back to one particular funeral home may be more costly than the various alternatives. You may also open a savings account and set aside a little money each month. This is good, but your relatives will need to know about the account and may not be able to easily claim it for some time after your death. As a third option, there are of course various life insurance policies. This is another good option, but you would again have to let your family know that such a policy exists. Insurance companies may not be able to track down your relatives in a timely manner, something that has resulted in billions of dollars in unclaimed benefits across multiple insurance companies. Whichever method you choose, adding this information to your will is one of the best ways to ensure that your relatives know the option exists.
For more information, contact companies like Maurice Moore Memorials.
