How to Plan a Funeral in South Africa Today

Death is all around us. When a loved one dies, the situation can become all the more traumatic if you have no previous plans in place. That’s why you should think now about how to plan a funeral. It is important to give serious thought to your loved one’s personal wishes. How would your loved one have wanted to be remembered? The only true way to personalise a funeral and run it in a dignified manner is to plan ahead.

It is important to give serious thought to your loved one’s personal wishes. How would your loved one have wanted to be remembered?

Funerals are flexible, and while one person may like a simple, no-frills funeral, someone else might want a large, sophisticated funeral complete with photographs and videos.

How to Plan a Funeral: Be Organised – It’s the Recipe for Less Stress

Pre-arranging allows one to discuss and plan in a pressure-free environment. Let’s look at some ideas on how to plan a funeral in such a way that it becomes stress-free and also unforgettable for all the right reasons. Certainly, your end-of-life plan needs to look at some of the following details –

• Where do you want to die? In a hospital or at home
• Do you want to donate your organs?
• Will it be a traditional or extraordinary funeral? Do you want a minister or celebrant?
• Include details about music, flowers, transport, photographers, etc.
• How the funeral people should dispose of your body – document your wishes – if you want a burial, make it known. Purchase your burial plot. If you choose cremation, tell people. Indicate what your wishes are for your ashes.
• Write a will so that your family has instructions for the handling of your financial affairs. Organise a living will so that there is clarity about medical treatment you want or want to refuse.
  Who should the survivors notify of your death?

How to Plan a Funeral – More Tips

• Where you keep the details of your funeral ceremony – if these are online, leave details of online passwords.
• Let your family know whether you want a religious funeral or humanist funeral. Maybe you fancy the idea of a direct disposal, where the body of the person who has passed on goes immediately to be either buried or cremated and without a funeral ceremony.
• The after-party – do you want one and where should it be held?
• Ask about prices – burial and cremation costs can vary. Start looking around for a funeral home that presents its prices. Remember that funeral costs are subject to inflation, so look at plans that lock in prices and free your family from inflationary shocks in the future.Take a close look at your insurances. Make sure that the one-time lump sum benefit is sufficient to cover all the costs and plans you make for the funeral you have in mind. Your survivors may not have enough from the insurance proceeds to cover the high cost of funeral expenses.

Planning a funeral is no easy task. What we’ve mentioned here is just the tip of the iceberg. Your funeral can be traditional, formal or informal.

How to Plan a Funeral- Control the Mood

Yes, it’s up to you to decide on the mood of your funeral. There are all sorts of ideas you can bring to your funeral. But if the notion is too overwhelming for you, then get someone to do it for you. The Good Funeral Guide is a labour of love and is a not-for-profit company. They will show you how to make the right choices, create a funeral you’d be proud of and get the best value for money. And they will support the wishes of dying and bereaved people in the UK and they are waiting by to help you plan a funeral in advance so that you get the funeral you want.

Get a FREE funeral cover quote here on this page. Just type in the form and click to submit

All info was correct at time of publishing