How do I start with recording my funeral wishes?
Spending some time thinking about your funeral wishes in advance can be beneficial and a source of great comfort to your family, when the time comes for them to plan your funeral.
We are all different and as such will have individual thoughts and wishes for how we wish our funeral; what readings and hymns, what flowers and colours? By discussing these and other details around ahead of time, can do help our families at the end of our lives. If you are thinking of having a conversation about what your funeral wishes might be, you have made the first step. Now it’s time to start the conversation of your life.
Can my funeral wishes contain practical and emotional aspects?
Once you have decided to prepare your funeral wishes, the next step is to sit down with your family to cover all details of your wishes and your funeral planning.
Your funeral wishes are a list of specific instructions which are separate from your will. The information that you choose to include will be personal but might cover both practical and emotional aspects such as:
- Where you want your funeral
- What type of funeral you are considering; be that religious or not
- Who should be notified of your death
- Whether you want to be cremated or buried
- Where you would like your ashes to be stored or placed
- Whether you prefer a traditional funeral or a colourful celebration of life
- Who you wish to speak at your funeral; would you like traditional readings, or poems and personal reflections
- Where your will is held for your family to act and manage your estate
- Any financial arrangements which you might have in relation to your funeral such as if you are taking a pre-paid funeral plan or have money set aside for the funeral expenses
- Any special thoughts or words of wisdom you might want to share with future generations, such as life lessons or proudest moments or achievements
The benefits of recording your funeral wishes
Discussing how you wish your funeral to be arranged in advance can help your family when the time comes. Having your wishes documented will allow them to gain a sense of comfort and relief that they are doing the right thing, and carrying out exactly how you wished your funeral to be.
A simple-to-use form to help you record your wishes
We are here to help make this process easier and have developed a useful form that covers all the main aspects that you may want to consider when thinking about your funeral. It provides an easier starting point, prompts for discussion to help get a difficult conversation started.
How can CPJ Field help with documenting my funeral wishes?
If you would like to read further guidance on preparing your funeral wishes, we have a full guide Recording your Funeral Wishes for Certainty which will help you further.
We are always available to meet with individuals and families should you wish to have a conversation around funeral planning. We have a wonderful team of compassionate, caring colleagues with a wealth of experience to help make the process easier and to guide you and your family.
