We plan ahead for most important events in our lives: baptisms, confirmations, graduations, marriages and anniversaries. For many reasons, planning for our funeral is even more important.
At Ballou & Stotts Funeral Home, Inc., we understand that discussing death is difficult during a time of grief and making funeral arrangements can be overwhelming if you're not sure of what's involved. That's why we've prepared this section of our website: to help you understand the facts about funeral arrangements, as well as the benefits of planning ahead. We hope it will help you decide if planning in advance is right for you and your needs.
Why Plan Ahead?
Advance planning is also referred to as "pre-planning or pre-arranging" and with that, we would like you to consider some important thoughts. Unless you have been through the experience of arranging a loved one's funeral, it is difficult to imagine the added emotional stress facing family members who are left with this responsibility. It may be more difficult if there were no previous discussions regarding a loved one's wishes.
A funeral is one of the most personal and precious ceremonies that we will experience in our lives. Yet, many people will have to make all of the important arrangements in the space of 24 hours or less. These hours that are already filled with grief can be further burdened with more than 50 important decisions which must be made.
We believe it makes sense for people to plan ahead. Advantages of planning ahead include the following:
Pre-Funeral Funding
Did you know that you can pre-plan funeral arrangements and pay in advance? This will relieve the family members of undue burden, when you pass.
What does that mean for you?
When you pre-fund a funeral account, funeral expenses are itemized and paid at their current General Price List charges at the funeral home. As with everything else in life, the cost of funeral service increases a small percentage every year. So, in 5, 10 or 15 years, etc. the funeral that was pre-funded will actually cost more than when you originally pre-funded the account.
Where to Begin
Once you've decided to pre-plan, what's next? Whatever your beliefs or preferences, it's important to make sure that your funeral home can provide you with complete information, so you can make confident, informed decisions regarding pre-planning.
We also encourage you to discuss your funeral preferences with your family, and include them in your planning. In any thoughtful funeral service, your plans should address their needs as well as your own wishes.
Please feel free to ask questions and share your thoughts with us. Together we can help you make choices that are appropriate for you and your loved ones.
If you would like more information on pre-planning, simply call us at (270) 864-3791 to arrange a convenient time to meet at your home or our funeral home or fill out and submit our FREE secure online pre-planning form (see below). You are under no obligation and you can make changes anytime as required. You may also print a copy for yourself to store with your important papers.