While death is not a popular topic of conversation, it something that needs to be discussed when deciding to come up with an estate plan. Death is an inevitable factor of life and being prepared for it with an estate plan, which should include funeral plans, can be beneficial for your family in the long run. Having funeral plans in place takes a lot of stress off the family. 
Here are ways to include funeral plans in an estate plan:
- Burial or cremation instructions: Writing out what you would like done to your body upon death leaves one less decision for your family to make. If you decide on a burial, things to include would be burial site, choice of casket, funeral home, organ donation, etc. If you choose to be cremated, you should include the cremation site, storage of your body prior to cremation and what should be done with your ashes afterwards.
- Ceremonies: In your estate plan, many people will specify if they want some kind of ceremony after their death. Ceremonies can include wakes or viewings of the body for friends and family to grieve or if you want an open or closed casket wake. You can also outline the actual funeral ceremony with what speaker you want at the funeral and where you want the funeral to be held.
- Payments for the arrangements: There are many ways that people can go about paying for their own funeral arrangements before death. Payments can be made with a funeral home up front in full or in prepaid installments. In addition, you can set aside an amount of money to be used for the arrangements and an executor or a family member can execute your plans according to your will.
Rather than having your family make hasty decisions while they are grieving, you can create an estate plan that includes funeral arrangements as a way to avoid this. A lot of difficult decisions have to be made upon death and an estate plan takes away a few of these tough decisions. If you are ready to begin creating an estate plan, contact us at Thornton Law Firm in Raleigh.