Making funeral arrangements is stressful enough without having to organise every detail involved. A good funeral home should be able to organise these things for you – leaving you free to grieve and spend time with your loved ones as you mourn.
When it comes to choosing a funeral home, it makes sense to shop around, just like you’d compare your options when buying anything else. In this article, we list some of the things you should consider when making your choice.
1. Location
The funeral home you choose should be conveniently located near where you live or in a place that’s accessible to guests. Especially if you’ll have visitors from out of town for the funeral, you’ll want to make transporting guests to and from the funeral home as easy as possible.
2. Facilities
The funeral home should have adequate facilities to ensure your guests are comfortable, such as sufficient parking, seating for elderly guests, and adequate bathrooms. If you want to have an open-casket ceremony, check that the home has an embalming service and find out how they’ll prepare the body. Finally, make sure that the funeral home can provide a suitable coffin at a reasonable price.
3. Transport
It’s helpful if your funeral home can arrange transport such as a hearse and vehicles for mourners, along with the necessary staff to drive them. If they can’t provide these, you’ll need to arrange transport yourself, either by using cars of friends or family or a rental car that comes with your funeral insurance policy.
4. Environment
Make sure that the funeral home you choose has a comfortable environment where mourners feel at ease, and that there is adequate space for them to pay their respects to the deceased.
5. Staff
When planning a funeral, having helpful, caring and friendly staff at your chosen funeral home is essential. Not only will they make the funeral a much calmer process, but their professionalism will help make the service run smoothly.
6. Type of service
When arranging a funeral, you’ll need to take into account the wishes of the deceased, such as whether they wanted to be buried or cremated, and whether or not they wanted a religious ceremony. Depending on these wishes, make sure that the funeral home has the necessary facilities and that they can accommodate appropriate religious officials and services should you need them. Some religious ceremonies, such as Hindu cremations, require specialized facilities.
By working out beforehand which services and facilities you’ll need, the process of choosing a funeral home will be simpler and as stress-free as possible. Bear in mind though that you don’t need to choose all of these services if you don’t need them – a funeral can still be dignified without being excessively pricey.
While it’s always best to visit potential homes yourself, if you can’t, try and get a referral for a funeral home from someone you trust.
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