You're drafting your funeral pre-plan and want to pick the best funeral home with which to work. While your plan contains your wishes for after you have passed away, your family will be the ones personally involved with the funeral directors and staff. Choose the funeral home that will help your family through the ordeal of putting you to rest while dealing with their own grief.
Get to Know the Staff
Speak with the funeral directors and some of the staff involved at each funeral home. Look for people who you feel will work with your family well. They should be pleasant, helpful and not focused on upselling their services. A few questions to ask yourself to help you evaluate the staff include:
- Do people working there have a positive attitude about their job in the funeral home?
- Does the staff take time to answer your questions fully or do they appear rushed?
- Do you feel respected when the staff speaks with you?
The best funeral home to use will have staff that you'll feel comfortable leaving your family with.
Compare Services Offered at Each Funeral Home
Funeral homes offer similar services, but each may sponsor their own unique options. Look for these services and weigh how important they will be to your family.
- Grief counseling - Most funeral homes have some kind of grief resources. They may employ their own trained grief counselors who hold groups and do one-on-one counseling. Some facilities contract with individual counselors in the community and still others can only refer your family to support groups in the community. Decide what will be more important to have available to your family when you pass away.
- Administrative assistance - Preparing and submitting applications for insurance and military benefits can be complicated and frustrating for your family. Some funeral homes offer assistance with this process to make sure everything is completed and sent in correctly the first time.
Understand the Change Management Process
Find out how each funeral home handles changes that your family may need to make in your plan. Costs may have gone up, speakers may no longer be available and weather or construction may prohibit having the funeral services where you specified. Changes should be easy for your family to make. If there are additional costs associated with the changes, understand what options the funeral home will give your family to ease the financial burden because of the changes.
