Planning Ahead: Talking with a Director About Funeral Plans

Whether you're planning the specific details of your own funeral in advance to ease the burden on your family or you're taking care of organizing some arrangements for a loved one who has recently passed away, one of the biggest decisions you'll have to make is which funeral home to use. You can often make your decision easier by visiting a couple homes in person, such as Danks-Hinski Funeral Home, speaking to the funeral director and touring the facilities. During this meeting, you'll be able to verify if the home meets your criteria in several ways; always be sure to consider how the funeral home addresses these three topics before you make your decision.

Religious Affiliation Or Belief System

Modern-day funeral homes can often accommodate people of a variety of different faiths, or no faith at all, but it's still ideal to talk to the funeral director about this topic. If religion is/was a key element to your life or the life of the person whose service you're arranging, find out how the funeral home staff can set up the room in accordance with those religious beliefs. For example, many homes can provide appropriate decor items to suit those affiliated with certain religions. Likewise, if you wish for the funeral service to not discuss religion, check how the home can accommodate you. For example, can it provide a room devoid of religion-related displays?

Room Logisitics

Funeral homes are often divided into multiple rooms of various sizes. If you're anticipating that the funeral service and the visitation will require the use of the home's largest room, try to evaluate whether it's large enough to suit. For events with an extremely high turnout, it's ideal for there to be adequate space in the room itself, but also wide hallways, waiting areas and multiple washrooms to accommodate everyone who is visiting at the same time. Something as simple as the logistics related to the room might seem minor compared to other arrangements, but it's valuable to remember to think about.

Help On A Budget

Whether you're on a budget or you're trying to keep your costs low for the service you're planning for a loved one, talk to the funeral director about any ways you can reduce the cost. Funeral directors know that many people have tight budgets and can often work with you on this topic. For example, the director might suggest a rental casket instead of purchasing one, go over the cost-saving benefits of cremation or propose other places that you can save some money.