Funeral & Cremation Pre-planning Resources
Plan a beautiful, personal remembrance
Particular passions, milestone moments and legacies created weave together to tell a unique story. The Insider’s Guide to Funeral & Cremation Planning will walk you through inspirational ideas and the simple steps to planning a very personal celebration. Fill out the form and a planning advisor will contact you to answer your questions and provide a customized estimate for final expenses.
Planning your own funeral or cremation
Each person is one of a kind. We all like different things and have different life experiences—and funerals can be as individual as the lives they honor. When you plan ahead, you get to decide right down to the smallest detail how you’d like your service—from the flowers to the food to the music and readings. Though it may seem ironic, there’s comfort in planning your own funeral. It allows you to design and create a meaningful memorial that aligns with your wishes.
Also, by pre-planning a funeral or cremation, you ensure your family doesn’t have to make arrangements or tough decisions. Instead, your loved ones can come together to focus on grieving and sharing memories.
Prepaying for funeral or cremation costs
When you plan ahead, you lock in today’s prices on many items and protect your family from worrying about how to pay for final expenses. Prepaid funeral plans, funeral insurance and life insurance are all ways families manage funeral and cremation expenses. With a prepaid funeral plan, you have the added benefit of prearranging the details of your service with the funeral home of your choice, so all the associated expenses are covered in advance—even if funeral or cremation prices increase over time.
You’ll provide your loved ones with peace of mind that they won’t need to shoulder the cost of a funeral or cremation unexpectedly. It will all be arranged and paid for. Your loved ones will also be assured your wishes will be honored exactly as you want.
Exploring alternatives to traditional services
For most of history, traditional burial and flame cremation were the only options available after a death. In recent years, however, alternatives have emerged, and more and more families are choosing to say goodbye in nontraditional ways.
A living funeral allows you to gather together the people who mean so much to you to say farewell while you’re still alive. A celebration of life is an uplifting time for loved ones to come together and share memories. Water cremation is now legal in many states, as is human composting. In addition, some cemeteries and memorial parks offer natural or green burials. If you’re interested in learning about alternatives to traditional services, a planning advisor can guide you through your options.
Pre-planning for families
Pre-planning a funeral, cremation or burial is a deeply personal and meaningful process that often brings families together. For many, making important end-of-life decisions becomes a family affair, with adult children helping parents plan their services and ensuring their wishes are respected and carried out with care. In some cases, parents may take the initiative to allocate resources so they can be memorialized in a cemetery with their children and grandchildren, creating a lasting family legacy.
Pre-planning allows families to have thoughtful, open conversations, removing the burden of difficult decisions during times of grief and providing peace of mind for everyone involved. By making funeral, cremation or burial plans in advance, families can focus on what truly matters—honoring the lives and memories of their loved ones in ways that reflect their values, their traditions and the bonds they share.
Pre-planning resources & guides
We know that planning a funeral, cremation or burial isn’t something most people do every day. We know you have questions, and we’re here to help. With webinars and live events, online educational resources and downloadable guides, as well as planners and advisors just a phone call away, we help you learn about your pre-planning options, understand costs, decide on cemetery property, apply for VA burial benefits if you’re a military veteran, and secure funding for your plans.
Our guides and resources are filled with helpful information about planning ahead. We can help you pre-plan a funeral, memorial or celebration of life defined by professionalism, compassion and attention to detail that is second to none.
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Plan a beautiful, personal remembrance
Particular passions, milestone moments and legacies created weave together to tell a unique story. The Insider’s Guide to Funeral & Cremation Planning will walk you through inspirational ideas and the simple steps to planning a very personal celebration.