Before a Bellingham cremation service, you should consider your funeral wishes, including how your things should be distributed among family members after your death. You should figure out what you want and how you want it, and then start taking steps to formalize your wishes.

Many of us don’t like talking about death and dying. Talking about death brings up the reality of mortality for everyone involved in the discussion. However, it’s very important for you to start talking to somebody about your funeral plans, your will, and any items you want to give to make sure to certain people after you die.

The best place to start talking about your wishes after your death is with your funeral director. You can preplan your cremation and any type of service that may be held after your death. If your cremation remains are going to be buried, then you can talk to the funeral director about where they should be buried.

Be sure to have any specific service instructions documented, so that you can take them to the funeral home with you to give to the funeral director. This will ensure that there is less for your family to do when they meet with the funeral director to make your funeral arrangements.

You should also decide who is going to be the executor of your will. Talk with your executor about what should happen after you die. Your executor will be responsible for wrapping up your affairs, so they need to know about your funeral plans and, in general terms, about how you want your assets and possessions distributed after you die.

After you talk to your funeral director and the executor of your will about your funeral plans and post-death wishes, you need discuss your plans with your family. They need to know what you want, how you want it, and where they need to go to make sure that happens.

This eliminates a heavy burden that falls on many families when their loved ones die. If the deceased didn’t leave instructions about or didn’t communicate their funeral wishes, then the family is left with the stress of trying to figure out what they would’ve wanted.

This can create unnecessary contention in family relationships during funeral planning when personal possessions of the deceased are being sorted through and either distributed to family members or given away.

This family upheaval can impede the process of settling your affairs. More importantly, it can create rifts that are so great that they become permanent. You don’t want your death to cause your family more pain than is necessary. You don’t want your death to possibly destroy your family in any way, either on a short-term basis or long-term basis.

That’s why it is so important to talk to your family about your funeral wishes. You don’t have to reveal the contents of your will, but you do need to talk about your funeral plans and you do need to discuss the distribution of personal items that you want certain family members to have. During this discussion, you may discover that you think one family member wants a personal item, but, in fact, the personal item has more sentiment to a different family member.

Discussing all of these things in the peace and calm of good health and good family relationships will prevent later fights and squabbles about what you would’ve wanted for your funeral and who should get what of your personal things.

If you’d like to learn more about planning a Bellingham cremation service, our empathetic and knowledgeable staff at Moles Farewell Tributes & Crematory – Bayview Chapel can help.