Funeral Planning, and planning ahead in general is difficult when it comes to planning for the inevitable because we simply do not like to think about it. However, it is important to the people who survive us to know how we wish to be honored and remembered. Therefore there are steps we can take to assist them in their time of sorrow.

1. Write & execute a will.
2. Execute a living will and advance directives concerning medical decisions.
3. Execute a power of attorney for those times we are not able to make decisions concerning our properties.
4. Select a method of interment:
a. Cremation and choice of final resting place of our ashes.
b. Traditional burial. In this case, we need to select a cemetery and pre-purchase a lot.
c. Directives to the executor of your will concerning location of viewing (if one is wanted) and conduct of any services we wish to have. Here, we can select a pastor, a church, a favorite song, etc.
d. Perhaps we wish to be donated to science; this is something we need to advise our survivors.

5. We may even wish to prepare our own obituary. This may seem a bit arrogant, but there may be things we know that our loved ones do not know, which we want included in our obituary.

6. Perhaps, produce a video expressing our wishes. Obits Online has a partnership with a media company that does this.

Remember, we will be doing these things for the loved ones we leave behind. These things take a great deal of guesswork out of their dealing with our passing.

Writing Notes