Pre-planning your funeral removes the decision burden from grieving family members, ensures your wishes are carried out, and can lock in current prices. You can pre-plan (make decisions without paying) or pre-pay (fund the arrangements in advance).
14 steps across 2 sections
1. Steps Process
- Document your wishes — Burial or cremation, type of service, religious preferences, music, readings, clothing, memorial donations.
- Choose a funeral home — Compare prices from multiple homes. Visit and discuss options.
- Make specific selections — Casket/urn, service type, cemetery plot/niche, headstone, flowers, obituary preferences.
- Decide on pre-payment:
- Pre-need trust: Funds held in trust until death; may grow with interest
- Pre-need insurance: Small life insurance policy designated for funeral costs
- Payable-on-death (POD) account: Bank account earmarked for funeral expenses
- Document everything in writing — Give copies to your executor, family, and attorney.
- Review and update periodically — Revisit every 5 years or after major life changes.
2. Key Details
- Pre-planning: Free (just making decisions and documenting them)
- Pre-paying: Locks in current prices but read the fine print on transferability and cancellation
- FTC Funeral Rule: Funeral homes must honor your pre-arrangements
- Medicaid: Pre-paid funeral plans are generally exempt from Medicaid asset calculations
- Portability: Some pre-paid plans transfer between funeral homes; others do not
Pro Tips
- At minimum, write down your wishes and tell your family where to find them
- Pre-paying can protect against price increases (funeral costs rise 2-4% annua...
- Ensure pre-paid plans are transferable if you move
- Include your wishes in your "when I die" binder alongside legal documents
- Consider your family's needs — the funeral is as much for them as for you