Funeral Pre-Planning: Coaxing a Terminally Ill or Aging Loved One

The idea of funeral planning in advance is a dreaded topic to discuss among family members. In the event of a foreseeable and impending death due to illness or old age, however, there may not be much choice. If you wait for the death to occur, the bouts of grief you go through will not give you that ideal mindset to make numerous decisions in a rush.

Start by opening the topic of a known friend or relative who just passed away. You may let your loved one know that had it been you who passed, you would have opted for this casket or those funeral songs. You can then ask for their own opinions. If your loved one is the one who brought up the matter, you can nudge them along by researching on the funeral service packages offered in your area and by explaining to them the pros and cons of each. Have them start with the more trivial choices first such as the color of the casket and the like. As they warm up to the idea of pre-planning, you can go deeper into the details until all their wishes would be made known to you.

 

Source: Revolutionhealth.com