When you’re planning for the future, you aren’t only going to be thinking about what happens to your possessions after you pass. You may have many thoughts regarding your funeral and burial. While this might be upsetting to think about, it’s something we all have to consider at some point. It’s understandable that you want to determine how you’ll be memorialized after you’ve passed. You may want to be buried or cremated or have specific instructions for what you want your funeral to include. How can you be certain that your wishes for after you pass are followed? Some might think including your funeral and burial wishes in your will ensures they’re properly followed. However, relying on your will for this is unwise.
Find out how to share your wishes for the future with your loved ones.
Create a Document Separate from Your Will
Your will might seem like the natural place to include your final arrangements. However, wills are not always located immediately after a person passes away. While you shouldn’t rely exclusively on your will to detail your funerals and burial wishes, you should have these plans typed up in a document. You may want to include details such as how you want to be dressed, who you want to speak, who you want as your pallbearers, and whether you would like flowers or donations in your honor. If you know you want a traditional burial or want to be cremated, you should also explain what you want your loved one to do with your remains.
Discuss Your Plans with Family
As with your estate plans, you should also discuss your final arrangements with your loved ones in advance. Your wishes shouldn’t come as a surprise to them only after you’ve passed. Of course, you want your loved ones to be prepared when you pass away and understand what you wanted them to do. Discussing your wishes ahead of time ensures that they have a good idea of what they’ll need to do when the time comes so they aren’t burdened with having to figure it out in the moment. You should also tell your loved ones where they can access your written wishes for your final arrangements.
Create an Advance Directive
If you want to ensure that your final wishes will be respected, you need an advance directive. Every adult should take the time to create an advance directive, regardless of their current age or health. This document allows you to express your end-of-life wishes should you become incapacitated and are unable to communicate them yourself. While an advance directive is important for ensuring you receive the medical treatment you would have wanted, you can also use it to dictate your post-death wishes. This includes whether or not you want your organs donated and your funeral and burial wishes. With an advance directive, you also select someone you trust to respect these wishes and communicate them on your behalf.
Plan for the Future with MHPS
It’s likely not something you want to think about, but you shouldn’t put off planning for the future. Your loved ones deserve to know what to do after you pass so they can ensure they’re respecting your wishes. This can be a difficult task, and you might not know the best way of doing it. At MHPS, we help people throughout Nashville with their estate plans so they can feel confident their wishes will be followed.
Contact us today for assistance.
