How to let a loved one know your final wishes
Talking to your loved ones about your funeral wishes isn’t an easy subject to broach.
If you find it difficult to talk to someone you love about your funeral wishes, you are not alone. 1 in 10 adults in the UK prevent having the conversation regarding what happens to them after death, due to fear.
However, it is important that your loved ones are aware of your final wishes so that they can give you the send off you deserve. But how do you bring up the subject? When is the right moment and how are they going to respond to talking about your death?
According to research, a third of people haven’t talked to someone they love about the subject as they don’t know how.
Shepherds Friendly Society suggest one way of expressing your final wishes is to write them down and put them away for safe keeping. They have created a downloadable ‘Final Wishes: Funeral considerations and checklist’ booklet that includes all the questions you need to ask yourself to help someone you care about arrange your funeral. You should also encourage your loves ones to do the same.
Let someone know where your store the booklet so they can find it when the times comes. You could tell a loved one, a solicitor or a funeral director in which you would want to carry out the arrangements.
The funeral wishes booklet also contains a checklist on the back so your loved one can make sure everything is arranged. This is especially useful for someone who hasn’t had to arrange a funeral before.
One important subject the booklet covers is how your funeral will be funded. It is important to consider where the funds will come from e.g. will it be the estate a pre-paid funeral plan or friends and family.
According to research undertaken in 2015*, the average cost of dying today is £8,126. This is based on the average funeral cost being £3,693, the average price of a send off at £2,000 and the cost of a funeral director at £2,433. Therefore it is important to consider where this money comes from.
How do you feel about discussing your final wishes with your loved one? Let us know.
*SunLife Cost of Dying report
