Funeral Guide 2018

FUNERAL PLANNING IN ADVANCE

physical capability. When choosing a plan provider, your key considerations should be: can you bespoke your wishes and not pay for packaged services that may include elements you do not require? Can you easily amend your plan? Can you transfer the plan to a new region and can you cancel the plan and recover your money? Your money should be secured in either an independent trust or insurance policy. You should be able to use the funer- al director of your choice and ideally meet with them if you are buying from a third party. Be aware of the payment mechanism – especially if you are paying a fixed amount per month as this might lead to you paying far more than the value of the services being covered. Should you wish to learn more about how a funeral plan might work for your specific circumstances, please contact Anna Rhys-Williams at anna@abwalker.co.uk or call (01635) 873672. AB Walker can advise you on your existing plan or offer appropriate options.

chapel is now the default funeral venue with only a relatively small minority holding a service in church. Planning for the end of life is also changing with more than 40 per cent of people over retirement age making provision for their funeral in the form of a funeral plan: a financial product that pays for selected servic- es upon death and often includes detailed and personal wishes. Quite simply – a funeral with everything except the date. The key driver for buying a plan is peace of mind as well as financial security – the biggest group to buy a plan are those that have had to arrange a funeral and wish to avoid the associated distress for their family: at the time of death, those left assign themselves with the chal- lenge of identifying ‘the right thing to do’ – made more difficult where there has been no preparation. The majority of funeral plan holders experience relief – protecting against unforeseen financial matters and changing family circumstances, shifting relationships and possible deterioration of mental capacity and

THE way that we mark the end of the life of a loved one is changing. In the space of ten years, we have observed a growing hesitance to arrange a funeral wholly based on the traditional pattern of religious funeral rites. Most of our funeral traditions were introduced by the Victorians and so maybe in 2018, they are ripe for review, with the media and technol- ogy playing their part in forming our opinions and new funeral traditions. Families have focused on identifying a more personal and appropriate celebration of the life of their loved one. This may or may not include religious content; while there is an undoubted increase in non-religious funeral ceremonies, the vast majority do contain prayers, hymns and readings. Services are conducted by unlicenced celebrants or licenced church ministers, however pictures, music and family memories are in- tertwined with the familiar messages of remembrance and hope. About 80 per cent of families opt for cremation and the crematorium

31

Advertisement Feature