Why Should I Preplan My Funeral?
When a loved one dies, there are many decisions to be made.
When a loved one dies, there are many decisions to be made, ranging from their final disposition (burial or cremation), to location, officiant, obituary, eulogy, song choices, florals, and many more. It is likened to planning a wedding, as it has as many decisions and moving parts as a wedding does, but unlike a wedding, it is often planned and held in under one week’s time. It is overwhelming. You are often in shock, and the grief of your loss is excruciating. There is often regret that comes to the surface during this process, particularly if there have been no conversations about final wishes. Guilt often follows, as decisions are made from a standpoint of guessing and hoping that you are caring for your loved one in the way that they would have wanted.
“You don’t want to make these decisions when you’re foggy and your heart is broken”. ~Kristie Bennett, Park Memorial family served, 2015
It does not have to be this way - there is another option: you can pre-plan your funeral. In doing so, you spare your loved ones from having to make these big decisions, and from having to guess what you would have wanted.
“If mom would have taken care of this in advance, there would have been no questioning what she wanted. What a relief that would have been.” ~Kristie Bennett
Nobody likes to face their own mortality. It requires us to be at our most vulnerable. We don’t just wake up one morning and think to ourselves “I think I’ll plan my funeral today.” Instead, this is an intentional decision made from a place of love for one’s family and from a desire to express one’s last wishes.
The process for prearranging your funeral varies according to your comfort level and the degree to which you wish to plan. Typically, you will select your method of final disposition, the casket or urn that you would like, transportation for your loved ones as needed, and which stationary package you would like. From there, you can be as detailed as you wish, answering questions like the location of your service, who will officiate, who will read the eulogy, what songs will be played, and what food you would like served at a reception following.
“When you preplan your funeral, you are giving your family a very precious gift.” ~Kristie Bennett
There is also a financial benefit to prearranging one’s funeral: by prepaying for your services, you are protected from inflation costs between the time that you make your pre-arrangement and the time of your passing.
Here is what you need to know:
- What products and services can I prepay?
Any products or services that Park Memorial directly provides can be part of a prepaid prearrangement. These include cost of cremation, cost of burial, casket, urn, rental of chapel for the service, rental of our reception centre for post funeral fellowship, limousine transportation for your family, and stationery. - What products and services cannot be included in my prearrangement?
Any product or service supplied by a third party cannot be pre-paid. These include, but are not limited to flowers, catering, burial plot, niche, honorariums for locations, officiants, or musicians, off site location fees, etc. - Do you offer a payment plan?
Park Memorial allows our pre-arrangement families the option to pay for their plan over a three-year term. - What if I want to make more decisions than those that I can pre-pay?
You are free to include other details such as selection of location, officiant, music, speakers, and pallbearers during your prearrangement. This document will help get you started. We recommend filling it out before you come for your prearrangement meeting, and then letting your executor know of its storage location so that it can be found and referred to when needed. - What happens to my prearranged funds?
The Funeral Services Act states that funeral homes must keep a minimum of 85% of pre-arrangement funds in trust and can use the remaining 15% for operating costs if desired. At Park Memorial, we honour the trust of our families by holding the full 100% amount of your pre-arranged funds in trust with Canadian Western Bank. - Can my executor change the decisions that I have made when I die?
Yes, your executor has the power and ability to change everything about your prearranged plans from the major to the minor decisions. And yes – we see it happen. This is why it is vital and critical that you select an executor worthy of your trust, whom you know will fulfill your last wishes as you have laid out. To read more about the role of an executor, please click here. - How much money can I save by preplanning my funeral?
We are able to give actual case scenarios from prearrangements purchased two or more decades ago: In 1985, one of our families chose a casket that cost $1545.00 at the time. The same casket today costs $4495. In 1985, one of our families selected a vault that cost $445.00. The same vault today costs $1595. As you can see, the savings are significant. - What happens if I move? Can I transfer my prearrangement?
If you move and wish to have your death care needs fulfilled outside of the greater Edmonton region or other area that Park Memorial serves, we will look for the closest family-owned funeral home geographically to you, and work with their team to transfer your prearrangement accordingly. - What if the urn or casket that I select and prepay is no longer available when I die?
If at the time of death, it is not reasonably possible to secure the originally selected casket or urn, Park Memorial will work with your executor and / or family to substitute a product that is closest to the same quality of product or better than the original choice, and which aligns with your outlined wishes. - What happens if I change my mind?
Park Memorial Funeral Home has a 30-day full refund policy following the date of contract, with no questions asked. Once the initial 30 days has passed, the refund of deposit is subject to a 15% administration fee.
