Does every person need pre-planned funeral services? No.

Are there some benefits that families can experience when they pre-plan funeral services either for themselves or their loved ones? Absolutely.

Nonetheless, pre-need funeral planning is a sensitive task for anyone involved. While there are concentrated efforts to help promote death positivity, talking about your own death or the death of a loved one isn’t always easy to do.

As pre-need funeral planning grows in popularity, there are many questions that families have about it. Here are 5 of the most common myths we hear about pre-planned arrangements.

Myth 1: Pre-Planning Funeral Services is Only For The Elderly

Pre-planning is not limited to only the elderly generations. This is a personal choice that anyone can make, regardless of age.

They typically include a barcode or a QR code that can be scanned to verify identity as each step in the preparation and disposition process is completed.

Trends show that younger generations are looking to take control of their own funeral arrangements following the loss of a loved one. Just because you are “young” does not mean that you cannot pre-plan your own services.

Myth #2: Pre-Need Funeral Planning is Expensive.

Pre-planning a funeral can be affordable for all families. Most people believe that pre-planned services mean that you have to pre-pay, but this isn’t always the case.

Most funeral homes offer monthly installment options (similar to how monthly payments work for insurance, your subscription services, your gym membership, etc.) so the expense does not have to be paid upfront.

Oftentimes with pre-need funeral planning, you’re able to lock in prices for products and services at current rates that can protect you from price increases or price inflation in the future.

Myth #3: Your Decisions Are Limited When It Comes to Pre-Planned Arrangements

Generally speaking, most funeral homes are happy to accommodate and adapt to your unique needs and requests. They typically utilize funeral home management software to track notes with your pre-need case throughout the entire process for quick reference.

The pre-planning process is flexible, where funeral directors and funeral service professionals allow you to customize your arrangement to exactly what you want. With most pre-planning checklists, you get to make the final decisions when it comes to:

• Disposition options
• Who will be involved with the funeral service
• Memorialization options
• Service preferences
• Obituary preferences
• And much more

Myth #4: Once You’ve Pre-Planned a Funeral, You Cannot Alter or Change Your Selections.

Most people believe that, once you’ve finalized a pre-planned arrangement for either yourself or another loved one, you cannot update or edit your selections after a specific date.

This is not true.

As mentioned before, this is an incredibly flexible process. Funeral directors aim to serve you and your family. They want to help you and are more than happy to accommodate any changes that you request 10-20 years down the line if your needs change over time.

Myth #5: Pre-Need Funeral Planning is Morbid.

Death is still a scary thing for a lot of people. Humans aren’t immortal. Therefore, anything associated with death is typically considered morbid or scary.

But, you’re simply being proactive when you choose to pre-plan a funeral service.

You’re actively choosing to plan ahead in an effort to reduce stress for your loved ones later down the road. That’s 100% valid.

This option also gives you as the planner more agency in getting to make decisions for your own service, maybe choosing things that your family and friends wouldn’t have thought of later on.

As the data illustrates above, pre-need funeral planning is no longer a ‘taboo’ concept. It’s considered a healthy (and sometimes necessary) practice that helps offer more peace of mind to families across the world.

If you have questions about how to get started with pre-need funeral planning, there are many resources that your local funeral home or mortuary can provide to you.

Professionals are available and more than happy to help you where you need them when it comes to the world of pre-planning. You aren’t alone, and open conversations about this option are important.