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Buy your funeral plan today and pay in January for peace of mind this Christmas. Click here for full T&Cs.
Two Together: Save £100!
Save £100 when you purchase two funeral plans together. Call us for more details.
Buy now, pay in January
Buy your funeral plan today and pay in January for peace of mind this Christmas. Click here for full T&Cs.
17 minute read
Writing a funeral preplanning checklist is a great way to keep everything in order when faced with the daunting task of arranging a funeral. There are many different elements, from financial to logistical and legal, to take care of, and that can be made even harder by the complex emotions that we can be feeling as we go. When planning ahead, we can feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of options out there, as well as the different ways to pay. In this article, we want to give some advice on how to start a funeral preplanning checklist, and on the various different uses it can have.
We understand that, if you’re reading this article, it’s possible that you could be going through a tough time right now, or that you anticipate one in the near future. We want you to know that we at Aura are here to help. We offer our funeral services to all those who need them, whether you’re looking to arrange a direct cremation in the here and now, or a prepaid funeral plan for the future, our Aura Angels are on hand to offer their compassionate, knowledgeable care.
Funeral preplanning is something that many people undertake in order to gain control of the end of their lives by paying for and specifying their funeral wishes in advance. The decision making process will concern thinking about funeral costs, your service preferences, and perhaps even end-of-life celebration ideas. If funeral preplanning is done effectively, it can greatly minimise the stress that comes to families when they are grieving the loss of a loved one, as they will know that everything has already been taken care of, and upon you yourself, as you will know that you have tied up all the loose ends.
Ultimately, taking the time to plan your own funeral can lead to a more rewarding experience all-round, as you will get the chance to personalise everything exactly the way you want it to be, helping your family with remembering their loved one in as special a way as possible.
Some of the keysteps of preplanning a funeral include deciding on the type of funeral service, choosing to have a burial or a cremation, and planning the service details. This process can become quite overwhelming and complicated, which is why it can be a great idea to keep a funeral checklist in order to help you stay organised.
What type of service you’d like will depend largely upon your budget and upon your own cultural or religious preferences. There are many different beliefs on death and funerals in religion, and they will certainly impact your decision if you yourself are religious. Despite the decline of religion in the UK, you may want a religious minister to officiate your funeral, rather than a secular celebrant; this might also impact the songs that are sung and the readings that are given.
If you’re interested in something more traditional, whether religious or not, you may also want the typical trappings, such as pallbearers with the casket, floral tributes, and a funeral procession. Or perhaps you’re looking for something more environmentally friendly, such as an eco- or woodland burial. All of these things will need to be specified and paid for in advance, and you’ll need to find the right provider for your needs too.
You will need to make some big decisions about your funeral, weighing things like cremation vs burial, or whether or not to have any mourners present. You may also want to consider what happens after a cremation, and having a few cremation ashes ideas, such as whether or not you want an urn containing your ashes to be placed at a mausoleum or in a columbarium niche, or for your loved ones to each receive some to use as they see fit, whether for cremation ashes tattoos or other gestures and keepsakes.
Perhaps you’d like your ashes to be interred at a natural burial ground, or even to have a traditional burial. In this case, you will need to inquire about local availability and consider budgeting for the more expensive aspects of that kind of funeral, such as the purchase of the headstone and the rental of the burial plot. According to SunLife in their Cost of Dying Report, those are the most expensive aspects of planning a burial. It’s important to note that burial costs are usually significantly more expensive than cremation costs as burial plans rarely include the cost of these expensive items.
You might also want to have a think about the content of your funeral. If mourners will attend, then you will likely have some kind of service. In that case, ask yourself what music you’d like to play, and what poetry readings you might want. Aura can help your family to connect with a local celebrant when the time comes; this person can design and personalise a service around your interests, life story, and personality, making things truly memorable and special. If you’d like a certain loved one to write a eulogy for you and then read it aloud, talk to them beforehand to understand whether or not they are comfortable with this.
In general, talking about death and dying with your family beforehand can make many things a lot easier: it can open up a safe space for them to share their feelings with you, and they can also be more effective in helping you to plan the kind of funeral that you really want.
An increasingly popular practice, concurrent with the rise of direct cremation as a modern alternative to the traditional funeral, is the concept of the ‘Living Funeral’; in other words, a funeral ceremony attended by the person whom it concerns whilst they are still living.
In effect, a ‘Living Funeral’ is a celebration of life held in honour of someone to mark the (impending) end of someone’s time, at which they themselves attend. That’s because, unlike a normal funeral, with a ‘Living Funeral’, the person whom it concerns is still alive as it happens.
Whilst on the face of it, this could seem like a strange, even unnatural idea – particularly from a traditional or religious standpoint – it can give family members an uplifting and meaningful way of expressing gratitude to the person, as well as to provide them with an opportunity to say goodbye.
Much like with the planning of any gathering, there are multiple different elements to consider, from the venue, to transportation, as well as catering and costs. You’ll be able to plan every aspect of the occasion, to make it as special as possible. From choosing the music, to the theme, location and guest list, you can organise a send off that is really ‘you’, which has a far more upbeat, and celebratory tone than a typical funeral.
A good death doula can lend a hand with the planning, as well as to facilitate some of the difficult conversations between family members that a ‘Living Funeral’ can generate, especially if the person who wants to organise the ‘Living Funeral’ may already be dying.
A living funeral can have a powerful impact on everyone involved. They can help to open up conversations about dying with friends and family, as well as to provide a strong sense of closure on a life well lived. It allows the subject to reflect on the full span of their life, and see where they fit into the pasts and futures of all those who are present. And it provides the loved ones attending a chance to express a deep and meaningful gratitude and respect for the subject too. It also has the possible impact of making the loss, when it comes, easier to bear, as it can help people to anticipate it and prepare mentally in advance.
Financial preplanning for funerals is a big part of your funeral preplanning checklist. Depending on the scale of the event that you envisage, you may need to plan far in advance to make sure you have the funeral or direct cremation prices covered.
SunLife, in their Cost of Dying Report, put the average cost of a traditional funeral in the UK at £4,141, but they also point to a 126% increase in funeral costs over a 20-year period. Legal & General suggest that between 2024 and 2034, there could be a 43% rise, taking their projected average cost by 2034 as far as £6,733.
In response to that, it would be a good idea to budget, prioritising the things you need and the things that would be nice to have. Use the current and projected average funeral costs to set a realistic budget, and factor in the variable prices for extras like floral tributes, catering costs and transportation.
You will have to consider what payment options work for you, by thinking about what insurance covers funeral costs, and weighing up funeral plans vs over-50s life insurance. The option you select should best fit your needs and preferences. A funeral plan with Aura is one of the best ways to plan ahead financially, as they lock in today’s prices, meaning you can head-off potential funeral price rises and the impact of inflation over time. We put your money into our secure, independently managed trust, which means that it will always be there, ready for when it’s needed.
You’ll want to do your research online, looking at what impartial industry experts, like Martin Lewis, have to say about funeral plans. And you can also compare Aura’s funeral plans to other leading providers, to give you a sense of what your money will get you.
A funeral preplanning checklist can help you to home in on how much a funeral plan costs, as well as what you are willing to spend on your funeral. If you are organising a funeral in the here and now, and you have already started to pay for aspects of it, such as a custom casket or the floral tributes, make sure you keep hold of receipts and invoices, as these can be very important when it comes to how to claim funeral costs back from the government, if you are eligible.
When someone dies, one of the first things that becomes clear is the sheer amount of admin and legal paperwork that needs to be found and completed. Having a cremation forms guide can be handy, but that’s much further down the track. Before that, there’s a range of preparatory admin that you might have to consider too, such as writing your will, assigning power of attorney or advance directives, and notifying key individuals of your plans.
When someone dies without a will, it can create a lot of problems for the family members they leave behind, particularly if they are relying on the estate for paying funeral costs. In that case, it can be important to write a will, if you don’t have one, or update it if you’ve already got on to make sure it’s up to date. You can also record funeral wishes within it, so that your loved ones have an unequivocal account of what you want to do, helping them to feel reassured that they are making the right call on your behalf.
You will also need to think about whom you’d like to name as your will’s ‘executor’, that is, the person who will be responsible for overseeing the distribution of your assets, and the discharging of your final wishes. There are a number of important things to consider when choosing an executor, and foremost among them is checking whether your proposed candidate is willing to take on the responsibility. Executing a will is a very solemn and serious administrative process that can be very demanding on the executor’s time.
If necessary, you might also want to think about setting up power of attorney, or at least about putting the groundwork in place should such a thing prove necessary in the future. Power of attorney gives certain appointed people the right to help you make decisions, or to make them on your behalf should you no longer be able. This is a path that many families walk when they are facing dementia and end of life, or other age-related cognitive conditions which could impair your decision-making skills or those of a family member.
It’s very important to document your preferences, whether or not in an advance care plan, ahead of time so that there is a written record representing your point of view.
One of the most important choices that you’ll have to make, whether you are planning ahead or organising something for the here and now, is the correct funeral service provider. You’ll need to research providers, possibly discuss preplanning options with a funeral director, and to confirm the services and terms.
If you are organising a direct cremation funeral at short notice, it could be helpful to compare direct cremation providers and costs, both on a local level, and nationally (some providers, like Aura, will be able to help you wherever you are in mainland Great Britain). This can help you to keep track of the relevant cost information and make an informed decision.
Price isn’t the only metric that is relevant; you’ll also consider the approval rating given to each provider by the families they’ve previously helped, as this can give you a keen sense of how true they are to their word. You can find ratings like that on websites like Trustpilot, where Aura has 4.9/5 stars. In fact, our score makes us the top-rated national ‘Cremation Services’ provider on the platform. Whether a company has any awards and accreditations from third-party bodies can also tell you something about how highly regarded and trustworthy it is.
A good funeral director, like Aura, will help you to understand what your options are, and work together with you to establish the best result for you. Aura’s industry-leading Angel Team are the compassionate and experienced secret to our success and they can’t be found anywhere else. Not only are they there to lead you by the hand through all the difficulty of funeral arranging by checking the paperwork is in order and correct, they can also lend you or your family an ear should you wish to talk about what you might be feeling.
They will be there to help coordinate paperwork, providing advice and support with obtaining a Death Certificate, or with registering the death, and with making sure that your funeral wishes, or those of your loved one, are implemented perfectly.
It’s always a good idea to make sure you understand what is included in each provider’s offering when it comes to preplanning your funeral. Not all funeral plans are alike. For instance, most of the time with burial plans, the cost of the headstone and plot rental is not included in the overall price. As you can see from the below table, certain things which Aura includes as standard are not included by other providers. By understanding what your money gets you, you can help yourself to make a more informed decision about planning your funeral.
One of the most helpful things you can do for those you leave behind is to organise and store your funeral preplanning documents in a safe and accessible place to the relevant people. If you can create a centralised file with all the relevant documentation, ensure its accessibility to those who need to know, and make sure that everything is regularly updated, it will do the world of good when it comes time to put everything into action later.
Gather together your will, your funeral plan documents or insurance policy, as well as any information about what you want your funeral preferences to be, in one place. If you have special ideas about any celebration of life to happen afterwards, or wishes for ashes keepsakes, then it would make sense to hold it all there, too.
Aura proudly offers its own online platform, the Aura Circle, as a digital tool that allows you to gather such documents together on a secure online platform. Not only that, but you can even share your life story on the platform with the specific people you want to share it with, documenting milestones with anecdotes and photos or videos. You can name a ‘trusted person’ to provide access to when the time comes, who will be able to take control of everything and find all of the information they need.
If you have physical copies of all the relevant documents, store them in a secure, but accessible filing cabinet or lock-box at home. Provide keys to those who you want to have access to the information. You can also leave copies of the documents, such as your will, funeral plan documents, or life insurance policy, with your solicitor, whom your family can use as a port of call when the time comes. It’s a good idea to have digital back-ups of any physical copies, so that there is a fail-safe should something happen.
It’s vital that, if you make changes to your plans, such as to the type of funeral you want or to how you want your assets to be distributed, that you make sure to update every copy. This will help to avoid confusion and conflict after you’re gone as your family attempts to understand your intentions using the documents they have in front of them.
If any questions have arisen through reading this article, whether about the right funeral plan for you, budgeting, or funeral-related paperwork, we are here to help you and to point you in the right direction.
We’re a family-run company, founded by Paul Jameson in 2019 after he learned that he has motor neurone disease. He set up Aura in order to make sure that families in the UK would benefit from his confrontation with his own mortality, and his experience with end-of-life planning. He runs the company today alongside his son, David (our CEO), and a family friend called Ben (our COO). Aura’s mission is to provide a service that never compromises on quality, and never drops below what Paul wants for his own family. Whether you need our services now or tomorrow, we offer them proudly from our family to yours.
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