Pre-paid funerals
Planning your own funeral
Members only: Family Bereavement Plan
Planning Your Own Funeral
Thinking about your own funeral plans may seem odd to some but it is on the increase as a practice. More and more people are realising just how helpful it will be for a grieving and stressed family to know the funeral wishes of their loved one.
According to the Australian Funeral Directors Association about 15% of all funerals are now planned. In the United States the numbers represent over 40%.
Here, the New Zealand Funeral Directors Association (FDANZ) advises that around 5% of funerals are planned by people who want a say in their own funeral. And this is increasing each year. As many funeral directors will tell you, it is not unusual for the grieving family to be unaware of the deceased's funeral wishes.
Helpful Assistance
My Life, My Funeral is a planning kit to help with this growing practice. It has been developed with the wide collective experience of members of FDANZ and is available from any FDANZ funeral home.
In the kit you will find a set of helpful and informative brochures.
Organising My Funeral discusses various reasons why people choose to plan their own funeral. It provides helpful information on this growing and thoughtful practice.
My Personal Information and Funeral Choices is a guide to the various parts of a funeral and the service that you might wish to make decisions about. Many of the options are noted to assist you with your choices. These will help your family when it can be hard for them to think clearly. There is space to list the people you want informed and their contact details.
Provision is also made to note your personal and family details required by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Your lawyer, accountant, banker and any other significant people or organisations concerned with your life and your estate can be included here too.
The My Notifications checklist prompts you to list the organisations and people who should be advised of your death. They may include the library, Automobile Association, clubs, subscriptions and so on, so your family can let them know to discontinue further contact.
A special satchel can be provided in which the above materials can be conveniently stored.
How to Obtain a Kit
Simply call in or telephone an FDANZ funeral director for a free My Life, My Funeral kit. Their names are listed in the Yellow Pages and on this website.
For further information please contact your local Griefcare or FDANZ member firm.
Contact details are available on the Contacts page on this site.