Prepaid funeral plans have featured heavily in the Press in recent weeks, prompting many individuals to consider or reconsider their wishes.
There are many benefits of having your funeral instructions in place. Doing so helps to avoid uncertainty and prevent loved ones from enduring the worry, concern and potential conflict associated with trying to determine what your wishes may have been.
How can I make my wishes known?
Talk about it with your loved ones.
Make time to discuss your wishes with your family or friends. We would recommend that you include the person or persons you have appointed as your Executor or Executors in this discussion as they are the person(s) responsible for your affairs following death.
Record it in your Will.
A popular choice is to express a wish for cremation, burial, or other arrangement in your Will. This one line statement is a clear indication of your wishes.
Place any additional instructions alongside your Will.
If you wish to provide detailed instructions, these can be set out in a letter to your Executors. The letter can be stored alongside your Will for safekeeping. The contents of such a letter may include your preference for music or hymns, readings, flowers, an order of proceedings, whether any service is to be conducted religiously or by a humanist celebrant and perhaps your obituary. You can tailor it to your individual requirements. Setting out these instructions in the form of a letter gives you the flexibility to change your instructions at any time without modifying your Will. This keeps your instructions private and personal to you, as Wills can become public documents.
Megan MacLean is an Associate in our Private Client team. If you have questions about drafting a Will and detailing funeral plans please contact Megan on 0131 225 8705 or by email mmaclean@thorntons-law.co.uk, alternatively please contact any member of the Private Client team.
