Burial Plan

A burial plan is simply a written document which outlines your wishes for how you would like your remains handled and any preferences you have after your death.

You should not place your desires in your will. The reason is that wills generally specify the distribution of property after your death and are often not reviewed until after the funeral. As a result your wishes may not be known until after your family or friends have already paid for and carried out the funeral in the manner in which they thought would be best.

You have a substantial amount of options as to how you wish your remains to be handled. For instance you can choose cremation over burial. You can specify what church, chapel or synagogue you would like to hold any services or viewing. You can opt out of any such services and choose a graveside service only. Every aspect can be specified including disposal of your remains, treatment of the remains (embalming or not), type of casket or cremation container you would like, transportation and final resting place. You can even specify what type of headstone you prefer.

Keep in mind that if possible, you should pre-pay or set aside specific money on an account for your farewell. If not, even if you express your wishes in a written document, your friends or relatives may not have the financial means to carry them out in full.