Plan Ahead
Why Plan Ahead?
There’s a lot that goes into planning a funeral, but making those arrangements beforehand gives you time to consider all of your options and make sure that you’re covering all of the necessary details. Still feeling unsure? Here are some of the most important reasons why planning ahead may be the best option.
Ways to Plan Ahead
- Gather personal information for your obituary
- Choose a charity to direct donations to, if desired
- Choose a funeral home
- Make note of any instructions for your services and final disposition
- Choose friends or family members to perform the eulogy, read scripture, or prepare a speech
- Choose a clergy member or officiator to preside over the service
- Select any musicians whose talents you’d like to employ
- Select pallbearers
- Choose a cemetery
- Select a burial plot or mausoleum
- Select a memorial or grave marker and inscription
- Decide who will keep your urn
- Decide who will scatter your ashes and where
- Personal Information
- Your father’s name
- Your mother’s maiden name
- Your level of education
- Your social security number
- Fraternal organizations
- Service organizations
- Union memberships
- Any special recognitions you have
- Military service
- Branch rank
- Date of enlistment
- Date of discharge
- Name(s) of war/conflict(s) toured
- Serial number
Funeral Service
- Choose burial or cremation
- Select a casket or cremation container
- Choose locations and types of services
- Choose floral arrangements
- Select which photographs and memorabilia you’d like to display
- Consider any customs, traditions, or religious rites that are important to you and your family
- Choose the clothing you’d like to be dressed in
- Select music and hymns, if desired
- Choose a theme for decorations and stationery at your services
- Arrange transportation for your physical remains and your family
Fill out a form or meet with a member of our staff to put your plan in place. Anyone can create a plan, at any stage in their life, and you always can make changes if you wish.
Preplanning lets you create your own unique life celebration. Including your family in the planning process can help them feel connected to you both in life and in death, knowing that your arrangements reflect your desires.
Preplanning relieves your family of that burden and gives them more time and energy to focus on healing and remembrance.
Prepayment generally means that you save money by being protected from inflation and price changes. We deposit all prepayments into a trust fund where it remains until needed. Prepaying also provides peace of mind for your family, who won’t have to figure out your funeral expenses when the time comes.
We keep a record of your preplanned arrangements and any prepayments, and they’re easily transferable to any funeral home in the United States.
First, check out our preplanning checklist to help you consider all your possibilities. Then you can preplan online using our form to create your personalized arrangements or you can schedule a time to meet with our staff to discuss your options and make a plan.
Please fill out the following information to allow us to better serve you.
If you have not already scheduled a meeting with one of our Funeral Directors, please contact us at (508) 746–2162.
Note: We understand that some of the following sections may ask for information that you do not know at this time or may need to complete at a later date. Please complete the sections to the best of your knowledge. Not all fields are required.
