THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRE-ARRANGED FUNERAL

The single most important benefit of estate planning is peace of mind. We often focus on the legal documents necessary for us to create an estate plan that provides such peace of mind. However, I recently had a personal experience that reminded me of the importance of one of the more practical aspects of planning.

My mother passed away a few weeks ago. Although my siblings and I had a general idea of what the funeral arrangements would be, no plans had been finalized. This lack of planning created a chaotic situation when I arrived to visit my mother in hospice care. I was immediately and less than delicately informed by the hospice caseworker that I had to make my mother’s funeral arrangements straight away. So before I could focus my attention on my mother in her final hours, I had to phone different funeral homes until I found the one I needed.

Making last-minute funeral arrangements for my mother added more stress to a situation that was already emotionally taxing. Especially after my experience, I highly recommend taking care of funeral arrangements in advance to avoid creating greater stress for your loved ones at such a difficult time.