How to Plan Every Detail of Your Funeral and End-of-Life Wishes for Your Loved Ones [Worksheet Inside]

You’re never too young to document your end-of-life wishes and make plans for your funeral or memorial service. But where do you start? And how can you be sure you don’t forget anything?

At the end of this article, you’ll be able to download a complimentary workbook that you can print and fill out for your loved ones, but first: what should you include in an end-of-life funeral planner?

Information About Yourself

Your family will need basic information about you for things like the death certificate and obituary. You’ll want to write down things like your address, your birthplace, where you’ve worked over the years, your parents’ information, and your military record.

Even if your closed loved ones already know all of this by heart, grandchildren come to treasure this information. When they wonder “what years did Grandpa serve in the war?” they can simply flip through your funeral planner.

You should also include login and password information for your social media accounts as well as contact information for all of your advisors – attorneys, accountants, insurance agents, physicians, and the like.

Finances and Insurance Information

Dealing with the finances can be one of the most stressful parts of death. Your loved ones are already mourning your loss, so trying to figure out which bank has what – and not having the account information – can be a huge burden.

Include all of your checking and savings account numbers along with the bank names. Also document any investments, your credit cards, and any loans you might have.

You’ll also want to make note of all your assets, including real estate.

Finally, you want to document information about any life insurance policies you might have. Include the policy number (very important!), the insurance carrier, your insurance agent’s contact information, the benefit amount, and your beneficiary.

Please note that your family can rely on the team here at Sams/Hockaday if you have your insurance through us. That’s what we’re here for – we help you secure insurance solutions, but we also help you and your loved ones during the claims process.

Important Document Locations

Let your family know where to look for the following items:

• PO Box Location, Box Number, Location of Keys
• Will, Living Will
• Medical Power of Attorney, Financial Power of Attorney
• Trusts
• Social Security Card
• Military Records
• Insurance Cards and Policies
• Pensions and Retirement Plans
• Income Tax Documents
• Stocks and Bonds
• Property Deeds
• Bank Records
• Automobile Titles
• Birth Certificate
• Marriage License
• Any Other Important Documents

Don’t worry – if you’re taking notes, you can just scroll to the bottom of this page to download your own funeral planner.

Your Funeral Wishes

Especially if your death is unexpected, the funeral planning can be one of the hardest things to plan for your family. Family members will undoubtedly have different opinions about what they think you’d like, so avoid this by writing down exactly what you’d prefer for your funeral.

You’ll want to include information about your burial or cremation (which do you prefer?), and whether you want open or closed casket. Alternatively, you can request to be donated to science, in which case you can note where you’d specifically like to be donated to.

Other information you want to include involve what type of service you’d like, where you should be buried, what clothes you want to be buried in, headstone information, and so on.

Also include the names of people you want to be involved in your funeral ceremony, if applicable.

Note any scriptures or songs that are important to you, and include contact information for anyone that should be invited to your funeral that your family may not know.

Final Wishes

This will be a treasure for your family – take some time to write about your life, and include photographs if you can!

• What would you like to be remembered for?
• What did you think of your career?
• What did you think of your hobbies and interests?
• Where did you travel?
• What are your favorite places?
• What are your greatest accomplishments?
• What are your fondest memories?

Take all the space you need for this as it will be invaluable to your loved ones during their time of grief – and beyond.

Are you ready to start planning your end-of-life wishes? Grab a free copy of your funeral planner below.