There are three main reasons you may want to pay for your funeral in advance.
1. Money money money
When you pay for your funeral upfront you are locking in the price on the day you make the payment. The average cost for a basic burial in Australia is $8,048 according to the Australian Seniors Cost of Death report. That price is increasing each year, particularly for traditional burials - land supply shrinks, the cost and availability of burial plots is rapidly increasing. You also need to consider rising wages and how that might affect every step of the process - from coffin-making to crematorium staff and even the fees of funeral directors. The cost of a funeral is increasing at around 5% each year so the earlier you lock in your funeral the more likely you are to save money.
2. Reduce the burden on your family
If you don’t arrange a prepaid funeral it will be your family or friends who end up taking on the responsibility. This can be incredibly stressful and emotionally draining during a period of immense grief. It can also place a financial burden on your family. If you died in debt or did not leave enough to cover the cost of a funeral your family will have to pay for the burial themselves.
According to the Cost of Death Report, 32% of seniors experienced financial hardship after paying for a funeral, and it took 68% of them at least six months to recover financially. Planning your own funeral and paying in advance will save your family this unnecessary stress, so they can use the time to process their grief.
3. Organise the farewell you want
While you can lay out your funeral wishes in your Will they are not legally enforceable. They act as instructions to tell your family what you would like them to organise. The only piece of guidance that must be enforced if you write it in your Will is any objections to cremation.
So if you want to make sure you get the sendoff of your choice, getting a prepaid funeral is the way to do it. You can choose your method of burial, your preferred funeral director and the church or cemetery where you would like a service to be held. If you’re not keen for something so traditional you can organise for a direct cremation and specify for a memorial service to be held instead. A backyard barbeque, beach bonfire or ocean burial can all be organised as part of a prepaid funeral service.