Funeral planning is a simple necessity, but it can be hard to bring up. It feels a bit awkward to talk about something that many of us spend so much time trying not to think about.
However, this is a very critical part of the estate planning process. It’s important for children to get over that initial hurdle, broach the subject and then help their parents do their funeral planning. Ultimately, the decisions belong to the parents, but talking about it with the kids helps for a lot of reasons, including:
- It helps to reduce the chances that a sudden funeral will put a significant financial burden on the heirs.
- It makes sure that the children actually know exactly what their parents want and desire.
- It helps the children determine how best to meet those needs.
- It gives children and parents time to talk about the plan so that any disagreements or discussions can happen in advance. This makes it less likely that there will be a dispute after the fact.
- It also reduces the odds of disputes because the children really do know what the parents wanted and no one can contest it.
- It gives the entire family a sense of security and peace of mind.
- It allows people to plan everything slowly and carefully, so that it is perfect, rather than trying to plan it in a rush at the last minute.
The key to estate planning, on many different levels, is simply to start early and consider all of the options that exist. Remember, it’s never too early to plan, but it can be too late.