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End of Life Planning
Our unrivaled care and support everyone is governed by our professional standards underpinned by our policies and procedures. Because how we treat the living, the departed and our environment really matters to us.
Amanda-Louise Funeral Services - Your Award Winning, Quality Assured, Modern Independent Lady Funeral Directors serving across West Somerset, Exmoor, Somerset and Devon
Planning Your Funeral Wishes
Death occurs to everyone, yet as a society we do not often talk about it openly, or think about our own wishes for our funeral. Leaving that to family can put pressure on them considering what is the right thing to do. But end of life planning does not have to be complicated, it can be as simple as writing down your wishes allowing for those close to you to carry them out the best they can.
Honest Funeral Talk
We know for some this is a difficult conversation to have, so we gently support you by providing advice about funeral wishes and sensitively talk about options available. As the saying goes 'its good to talk' and this is true when it comes to having a meaningful conversation about things that matter the most to you. This could include if your preference is cremation or burial, to flowers or donations to your favourite music to be played at a funeral ceremony.
Why It's a Good Idea To Have Your Funeral Wishes Recorded?
You could plan every detail, or have some wishes of certain aspects. And it can change, as often is the case as we get older. Whilst a family aren’t under any legal obligation to carry out your wishes, it will:-
- Unburden the family of practical decisions
- Helps the family grieve sooner
- Helps you recognise your own mortality, and perhaps then live your life to its fullest
- Have the send-off that you want
- Allow you to consider how it will be paid for
Is It Too Soon To Think About Your Funeral Wishes?
No! You do not have to wait until you are "old" age, or have a life limiting condition to start thinking about your funeral. After all, death happens to us all. We at Amanda-Louise's know it happens to anyone from younger generations to older generations, and can be unexpected.
Many of the people who instruct our funeral director services once someone has died, tell us they wished they had known about their preferences. So its never too early to think about the inevitable - make a note of your wishes, then enjoy your day!
How Does Amanda-Louise Funeral Services Support You With Your End of Life Planning?
In conjunction with our commitment to care for families after someone has died, we are passionate to support people being prepared ahead of their death. We embrace tradition and with our fresh approach, we give you the freedom to make your own choices. With our experience and knowledge, and can support you through every step of the way. We recommend small steps work best - here's our 3 step approach......
Step One
Use our Funeral Wishes Checklist document (see below) - you can complete this yourself, or with your family and store it in your own paperwork. This is our free of charge resource for you to plan your funeral.
Step Two
Amanda-Louise can support you with your end of life planning. She can talk on the telephone, meet in person (or within a group setting) and respond to emails. At a nominal charge of £40* for one person for an hour, £50 for couple/two people and subsequent sessions at £30 per hour, you will receive a professionals guidance, after listening to you, she will help you focus and support you to plan your funeral in advance, as well as advice about how to approach the subject with your family, opening you up to a world of possibilities for a funeral and avoiding any pitfalls. We can keep a copy of your plans for when the time comes. *for those on low income, we will offer a reduced fee
And for those who want to have their voice heard during their funeral ceremony, our Living Eulogy Service is ideal. A living eulogy is exactly what it says - its an organic approach to building a farewell speech or tribute to be retold during your funeral ceremony or celebration of life tribute when the time comes. It ensures your memories are retold, relieving those left behind to think about your tribute whilst they are suffering from any shock, disbelief or grief that they may be experiencing at your death. So you become the gatekeeper of your own stories!
Step Three
You can help to alleviate the emotional and financial burdens from your family and loved ones by planning and paying for your actual funeral ahead of time. Having chosen the type of funeral you want and need, it may be beneficial to consider the option of a prepaid funeral plan.
We're Here To Help - Our Funeral Wishes Checklist
We understand not everyone feels comfortable having those conversations with loved ones, so our Plan of Wishes Checklist document helps you to consider and write down your preferences. Its available for you to download and print. You can send this back to us for safe keeping advising your next of kin that we have this, or simply store it in your paperwork at home. There isnt any obligation to use our services once completed, its our gift to you of how you would like to be remembered.
Our focus is on offering people practical help and personal support. Our guidance will help you understand all aspects of preparation and arranging a funeral.
We have tried to cover every aspect of the funeral process however you are welcome to contact us on 01643 800335 if you have any further questions or need any advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can family members carry the coffin at the funeral?
We aim to help families do this. Many crematoriums and churches are happy for families to be bearers if they have been trained by their funeral director and come under the funeral director's insurance (due to liability), so if its important to you, our professional bearers will be in attendance to support you to do this. The final decision on the day of bearing always falls to the funeral director, who will make risk assessment of the conditions to ensure everyone is safe.
Can friends or family help carry the coffin at the funeral?
Yes they can. Its recommend that 6 bearers carry a coffin, but some used 4. We can help families if they want to do this, or you could have a mixture of family bearers alongside our professional bearers.
Can we play music at the funeral?
Yes of course, and the choice is up to you reflecting your loved one. We have supported families from religious, classical, rock and roll or pop. We have created some popular choices on our Youtube Channel to give you some inspiration
https://www.youtube.com/@amanda-louisefuneralservic3476
How Can We Make the Funeral Personal?
We believe it's important not to rush into making decisions, that way the funeral service can be individual and reflect the person. We will discuss options with you including who you would want to conduct a funeral service, whether anyone wants to provide a eulogy or tribute along with music and visual tributes.
We have supported families in a variety of ways from memory boards, funeral stationery, flowers from own garden, custom made coffins, musicians, funeral photographer for example.
We have a wealth of experience of supporting families to have gentle to flamboyant funerals
Which is more expensive burial or cremation?
Typically, cremations are less expensive than a burial, but there isn’t much in it these days.
For burials, the cost will depend on whether it’s a new plot needed to be purchased, or an existing one that needs to have a stone removed in preparation, plus there is the burial cost on top. Having said that, cremation prices do vary with each crematoria provider, whether you want a funeral ceremony and for how long. Please do talk to us about your individual requirements as we always supply a quotation.
We offer a extensive range of caskets, urns, flower arrangements, cars and hearses all designed to make planning a funeral as easy as possible.
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