With so many different possibilities for celebrating the memory of a loved one, there is often confusion about what the deceased person would have wanted.
Estate Planning, of course, can help to address this issue. A person prior to their death can leave very specific wishes to be followed. But, that still leaves the bereaved with the difficult and painful tasks of carrying out those wishes.
Pre-planned funerals have been in existence for a long time. However, the present choices are frequently overwhelming - the tasks of planning the funeral, the religious service, the obituaries, the memorial services, to name only a few.
Sometimes family members do not agree on the details, and that can cause further stress in an already emotionally -charged time.
During this time of COVID, there are instances when the family was unable to visit personally with their loved one who was in the hospital or nursing home. This situation created further grief, confusion and stress for the family.
The role of funeral directors has expanded to educating the bereaved, guiding them, offering increased options and assisting the family to make meaningful memories.
Options for memorializing the deceased have expanded as quickly as the digital age. There are hi- tech options of digital headstones; “smart” caskets (with speakers inside the coffin); 3-D painted urns: streaming social media tributes; using cremains for memorialized diamonds, to name just a few.
There are alternatives in burial services and the disposition of the post mortem remains: such as a ‘green’ burial; bio-cremation; hi-tech columbariums* ; eco-friendly coffins; launching remains into space; cryonic freezing; and promession (a decomposition system) - alternatives that have come available only in the last decades.
Whatever the choices, the importance of the final wishes of a loved one and the alternatives of celebrating a life well-lived is changing dramatically.
A periodic review of your Estate Plan can assist loved ones to determine your exact wishes. Assure that your documents are located where a family member or executor can access when needed.
* Research showed that the word columbariums comes from the Latin columb – dwelling place of a dove – a comforting thought.
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