How to Plan Your Own Funeral (Step-by-Step) | Golden Charter

Why plan your own funeral?

Most people are familiar with the idea of pre-paid funeral planning, yet only 12% of adults in the UK have funeral arrangements in place.^* While that’s a low number of people to have made formal funeral arrangements for something that affects us all eventually, it’s easy to understand why. Put plainly, the topic of funeral planning can make people feel uncomfortable.

But no matter how uncomfortable the subject might be, the fact remains that pre-planning your funeral might be one of the kindest things you can do for your loved ones.

The gift of certainty

Research shows that over half of people organising a funeral feel under pressure, particularly to get things right in their loved one’s memory.^*

Having a pre-paid funeral plan in place that clearly conveys your wishes will remove the stress of ‘getting it right’ from your loved ones. Having a fully pre-paid funeral plan means that a great deal of financial pressure will be removed as well.

What type of funeral is right for you?

Intimacy over fuss

Today, people tend to prefer smaller, simpler send-offs. More importance is placed on the funeral being held locally, with fewer people in attendance.^*

This is also shown by the increasing number of people choosing direct cremations. These don’t have a service where families and friends can attend; the deceased is taken directly to the crematorium, with ashes being returned to loved ones later. A many as 21% of funerals are now described as direct cremations.^*

The ceremony choice

Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for you. For example, just because nearly two thirds of people are choosing cremation (whether attended or not) over burial doesn’t mean that cremation is the better option. Whether you want a traditional service with all the bells and whistles, something smaller and more intimate, or a no fuss direct cremation, the important thing is to reflect your wishes and personal values.

Celebration of life

As well as funerals evolving into simpler affairs, there has also been a shift in thinking about the purpose of a funeral. Rather than a purely sad occasion, nearly 60% of funerals are now described as ‘celebrations of life’ by their organisers.^* This doesn’t mean that funerals are no longer sad; it means that people are using them to come together and share their loved one’s unique life story and personality.

Even with unattended funerals, 86% of direct cremation organisers reported having some kind of memorial service either before or after the cremation took place.^*

‘Simpler’ funerals do not mean ‘lesser’

Remember: having a ‘simpler’ funeral doesn’t mean ‘lesser’. There is no template for what a meaningful and heartfelt funeral looks like. There’s only what’s right for you. That’s why it’s important to know your options.

Below, we’ve laid out some of the different types of funerals, so you know what’s available and can start thinking about which one might suit you best.

Choosing a local funeral director you can trust

It’s important to choose a funeral director you can trust to carry out your wishes. Here are just some of the things they could be organising on your and your family’s behalf:

• Transporting the deceased into their care and looking after them
• Registration of death and other paperwork
• Supporting family and friends before, during and after the funeral
• Arranging the cremation or burial and the service (if chosen)
• Transportation for family and friends
• Arranging viewings
• Communicating with suppliers like florists, stonemasons and stationers
• Organising obituaries

As you can see, funeral directors hold a great deal of responsibility, arranging details with many people and businesses across the community. Therefore, choosing a trusted funeral director with strong local ties is a vital element to consider when planning your funeral.

Local care for every plan

With a Golden Charter funeral plan, local care is exactly what you get. With a network of over 3,000 independent funeral directors across the UK,^* you can be confident that you and your loved ones will receive the expertise and support of a trusted funeral director close to you. You can use our website to search for your closest Golden Charter-approved funeral director, which can be recognised through the Golden Charter seal.

Even if you decide on a direct cremation, our wide network of independent funeral directors ensures that you would be cared for close to home, rather than being transported to a distant central hub. And if like most families you have a celebration of life or service after the direct cremation,^* the funeral directors in our network can offer their local knowledge and expertise.

Personalising your service: Telling your story

There are lots of ways to personalise your funeral service. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

Music

• Choose songs from your favourite film, musical, or decade
• Choose your favourite music from different points in your life, like your favourite teenage sleepover karaoke hit or what you chose for your first dance
• Pick songs that have special meaning between you and the people attending . Did you and a friend belt out a tune on a road trip? Was there a lullaby you used to sing to your children?
• If you’re still struggling , have a look at our blog on how to choose funeral music.

Readings

• Ask a loved one to read an extract from your favourite poem or book; or a speech from your favourite film
• Instead of a reading, why not ask people to share stories from your shared time together? It might prompt some laughter as well as tears
• Instead of picking readings yourself, you could ask your friends and family to pick readings that remind them of you – though it might be safe to specify tasteful choices only!

Clothes

Instead of the traditional black, guests could wear:

• Your favourite colour
• Their favourite colour
• The colours of your favourite sports team
• An outfit that makes them feel happy
• Something they wore during an important memory with you

Location

Funeral services don’t need to take place in the crematorium, house of worship, or cemetery. Your funeral service could be held somewhere special to you, such as:

• Your local park
• Your favourite pub or restaurant
• Your home
• A community centre
• A sports club
• A hiking trail
• A nearby beach

You can also encourage your loved ones to send photos to your family or to the funeral director to create a digital tribute or photo montage. This way, everyone is contributing and people who may not be able to attend will have a keepsake to hold onto.

How do funeral plans work? (And why they protect your money)

When you take out a funeral plan, it shows that you care about your own emotional and financial security, as well as the security of your loved ones. The emotional security is easy to understand: a funeral plan ensures that your wishes are clearly written down so they can be followed. But how does finance factor in?

At Golden Charter, we protect your money by building three layers of financial protection into our funeral plans:

• A Golden Charter funeral plan fixes the cost of the services the funeral director provides at today’s prices. This protects your loved ones from rising prices and ensures that, once your plan is paid for,^* there will be nothing more to pay for them – guaranteed.
• When you take out a plan, your payments are placed in the Golden Charter Trust, managed by an independent Board of Trustees and separate to Golden Charter Funeral Plans. With £1.21 billion under management,^* their role is to hold your payments and ensure that the funeral director services included in your plan can be paid for when they are required, however far into the future.
• Lastly, Golden Charter funeral plans are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), a government scheme with the purpose of protecting customers if a company goes bust. That means in the unlikely event we fail, you can be confident your money is safe and everything will be taken care of. See www.fscs.org.uk.

For more information on how we protect your payments, please visit goldencharter.co.uk/faqs.

Funeral plans vs life insurance

You may feel like you don’t need a funeral plan because you have life insurance that will pay out after your death. However, there are some important points to consider when relying on insurance to cover funeral costs:

• Insurance may not rise with inflation, whereas with a funeral plan, funeral director costs are fixed.
• Insurance payouts might not be enough to cover funeral costs when the time comes.
• Accessing insurance funds can take time, potentially leaving family members to pay upfront and be reimbursed later. With a funeral plan, the money is already there.

The good thing is, you don’t need to choose just one. A funeral plan can sit alongside life insurance to offer greater protection and peace of mind. That way, your loved ones will have money set aside specifically for funeral costs, as well as anything extra you choose to leave for their personal use.

How to handle your ‘digital estate’

Have you ever thought about what happens to a person’s important digital documents, email or social media accounts when they pass away?

The first thing to do is to choose a trusted person to take care of your ‘digital estate’. Give them a list of your social media and email accounts, online banking and file/photo storage.

Remember not to give this trusted person your passwords; they won’t need them. All they need to do is contact each company directly and ask for the account to be closed.

Start making a list now about which companies will need to be contacted. Some examples to start you off:

• Gmail
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Spotify
• Online banking
• Utility companies

With some social media platforms, it’s also possible for accounts to be memorialised when the account holder passes away.

Make sure to instruct your trusted person on whether you’d like the account to be closed or memorialised. In case of photo storage, consider picking out photos you’d like certain people to remember you by.

Next steps: Documenting and sharing your plan

Having your funeral and end-of-life wishes stored somewhere secure, with people aware of their location, is vital to ensuring that they are followed. While wills are a good first step, they aren’t always read in time before the funeral.

With a Golden Charter funeral plan, you can nominate a trusted person as your representative who’ll receive a copy of your plan paperwork. When you receive your membership pack, you’ll get a membership card that you can keep on your person in a wallet or purse. In case anything should happen, this card will let emergency services know who to call.

It’s very important you make sure someone knows where your funeral plan is, along with your other confidential documents. Otherwise, no-one will know your wishes or other vital information, such as insurance details for closing accounts.

Final steps checklist

To summarise the information we’ve given you on how to plan your own funeral, we’ve created this handy checklist to follow:

• Choose the type of funeral that feels right for you
• Select a trusted local funeral director
• Personalise your service
• Understand how your funeral plan protects you
• Consider whether you need a plan alongside life insurance
• Talk to your family about your wishes
• Organise your ‘digital estate’
• Store your plan safely and tell someone where it is

The point about thinking of these things now – and most importantly, talking about them - is to save yourself and your loved ones financial and emotional stress in the long term. When you’re ready, we’ll be here to support you.

You can search for your nearest Golden Charter-approved funeral director on our website. Don’t forget to look for the Golden Charter seal.

Chat to our friendly and experienced team. They’re available from 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. Give them a no-obligation call, free, on 0800 090 2258.

If you prefer to buy online, then you can also have a look at the funeral plans page on our website.