Getting Your Affairs in Order

Planning ahead can take the complexity out of grief.

When you die, your family will need access to certain documents and paperwork in order to close out accounts, acquire any money they are entitled to, and know what your final wishes are. Making sure you’ve taken care of these and informing your closest family members of how to obtain them can make the process of saying goodbye much more efficient and a lot less logistically painful. 

It's extremely important to have all this paperwork in one, secure place and make sure your family or executor knows where they are and has access to them.

Making sure your will is up to date and your finances are in order are critical end-of-life steps to take care of. But what about your funeral? If you don’t take care of that when you still can, the burden inevitably falls on someone else, someone who will also be grappling with their loss and grief.

Ensures that your wishes are followed. Putting your funeral plans down on paper with the guidance of a funeral home prevents any confusion or deliberation about what your final wishes were. Unfortunately, many families end up in conflict when a loved one dies, because they all think they know what the deceased wanted. A prepaid, preplanned funeral ensures everything is taken care of, and your family can focus on each other.

Eases the burden on your loved ones. Preplanning your cremation or burial and services spares your loved ones from making what can feel like difficult and thought-consuming choices at a time when they are grieving. Your family and friends will likely also be in the midst of planning travel arrangements to your ceremony, securing lodging, establishing child and pet care, getting time off from work, etc.

Saves you and your family money. Some people assume or expect that life insurance will cover funeral costs, but that isn’t always the case. Life insurance funds are also not paid out until weeks or months after a death. Your family members will be responsible for the services upfront.

Paying for your funeral ahead of time ensures your family won’t have to. It also guarantees today’s prices for the majority of the cost, preventing your family from paying inflated prices in the future.

Making a preplan is much simpler than you may think. All you have to do is schedule a meeting with an advanced planner at the funeral home of your choice. They’ll sit down with you and your family, show you your options, and help you plan services that work with your preferences and budget. They’ll keep your plan secure until it’s needed.

If you decide you want to change your plan in any way or even change funeral homes, all you need to do is call. Preplans are easily altered and transferable.

If you’d like to learn more about preplanning the advanced planners at Horan & McConaty are here to answer your questions and accommodate your advanced funeral planning wishes. Just call 303-743-8804 or any of our locations in Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Thornton, Arvada, and Centennial. You can also request an appointment online.

Horan & McConaty has been a part of the Denver community since 1919, and we’re committed to continuing that legacy by guiding today’s families through loss and grief and helping them gather with the people they love.