In a previous blog post, we discussed how planning your funeral can help you communicate your final wishes and feel more at peace. But how will pre-planning your funeral help your family?
Your loved ones may struggle to move forward after you’re gone, and having a plan in place can help them heal. By knowing precisely what you want your funeral to be like, they can avoid having to make any difficult choices on their own. Instead, let them focus on celebrating your life and remembering the good times you shared.
Funeral Pre-Planning Enables Your Family Members to Properly Grieve, Not Be engrossed in Preparations
Due to the inherent nature of Jewish funerals’ quick turnaround, those suffering from a loss are immediately required to make decisions without a pre-planned funeral in place. This leaves little time to fully process the loss after news of a death. The bereaved’s focus would predominantly be on the details of the arrangements. Thus, initial grief temporarily gets set aside, becoming heightened after the funeral. This is counter-productive since the funeral is an instrumental part of the healing process.
Funeral Pre-Planning Can Eliminate Financial Strain on Your Family Members
From a financial standpoint, a benefit of funeral planning is that it allows you to set aside funds for expenses related to your death. Pre-planning can help ease the financial burden your family members might otherwise face. Stress from needing money for funerals, memorial services, and burials may exacerbate family members’ grief. Therefore, making it almost impossible to move to a post-funeral calm.
Funeral Pre-Planning Can Prevent Potential Disagreements Between Family Members
Funeral pre-planning can help to avoid family conflicts. While a funeral may bring individuals physically together, it can also drive them apart. Collaborating and agreeing on funeral arrangements or determining who will be responsible for paying related expenses can cause animosity and other issues among family members. These scenarios can often escalate tension and add more pain to an already painful situation. The compounded anguish will then prolong grief and cause it to become more challenging to heal.
How You Can Help Your Family Members
It may help to consider all steps that your family would have to take if your funeral is not pre-planned. Which funeral home would they call? Will they be concerned with the cost of a funeral? Would everyone be on the same page with planning? Could having to handle everything related to your funeral make everything harder on them emotionally?
Your family has been there for you throughout your life. So wouldn’t it be great to be there for them even when you can’t be?
Contact our funeral directors at Star of David Memorial Chapels on Long Island, New York, to discuss a funeral that truly reflects your life and last wishes. Our compassionate team will guide you through every step of the process and will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Call us today at 631-454-9600.