SMT Oasis From Radius 3

What is preplanning a funeral?

Many people plan for the milestones in their lives. People may put money away to buy a home, to pay for their children's education, or to live on during retirement. Why plan for these life events? Planning helps ease your mind and your family's minds because you have already made decisions about what lies ahead. Planning also helps ease the financial burden of these life milestones.

Many people may not know that their funeral is another life milestone that can be prepared for in advance. Preplanning for your funeral involves putting down in writing your wishes about your funeral service and making, and possibly paying for, all other necessary funeral arrangements. In this way, you can be assured that the funeral decisions do not fall to your surviving family members. The Summers Funeral Homes staff can help guide you and your family plan through this process.

Why should you preplan your funeral?

The Summers Funeral Homes staff wants you to understand how preplanning and prefunding your funeral allow your family the greatest opportunity for long-term healthy relationships.

Preplanning your funeral can:

Allow you the time you need to make careful choices about your funeral and eliminate emotional overspending.
Make sure that the funeral service decisions are not totally left to your family. This can help your family avoid uncertainty and conflict at the time of your death.
Ensure that all of your funeral service wishes are carried out.
Provide peace of mind because you are leaving your affairs in order. Prefunding your funeral can:
Guarantee that the services and merchandise you select today will not cost you more money when it comes time for the funeral.
Guarantee that the services and merchandise you select will be within your budget.
Guarantee that your funeral plans will be protected from legal entanglements.
Guarantee that your funeral plans will be transferred if you decide to move from the area.

You may have your own reasons why you want to preplan and prefund your funeral. If you have questions about what preplanning your funeral can do for you, contact Summers Funeral Homes.

How do you preplan your funeral?

When you are ready to put your funeral wishes in writing, contact Summers Funeral Homes. The Family Services Department will help guide you and your family through the funeral planning process. The services provided by Summers Funeral Homes are designed to help you and your family with:

Advanced funeral planning
Aftercare
Contacts with grief support

Advanced Funeral Planning

When you contact Summers Funeral Homes you will first meet with a person from the Family Services Department. This person will help you by answering any questions or concerns that you have about planning your funeral in advance. In addition, you will be given a booklet that lists items you might consider as you go through the funeral planning process. You can check items off of the list as you complete them.

Along with the booklet, you will be given an emergency medical alert card to carry with you. This medical alert card will contain your medical

information in case you need emergency medical treatment.

Aftercare

Within 24 to 72 hours of the funeral, a person from the Family Services Department will make a follow-up call to your family. This person will help complete any paperwork pertaining to Social Security benefits, Veteran's Administration (VA) benefits, retirement benefits, and life insurance claims. They will also be given the "Transitions" careletter. This monthly careletter contains invaluable information that will help your family understand death and the grieving process.

If needed, Summers Funeral Homes can provide your family with resources to help with fiscal and legal matters (if preplanning was not done) and spiritual and health concerns.

Grief Support and Counseling

The Grief Support Program has been established to assist families after the death of a loved one. This unique follow-up program is one reason why Summers Funeral Homes is the leader in the funeral industry.

The Ada County Grief Support Network is part of the Summers Grief Support Program and is designed to give families access to grief support groups as they begin the grieving process. This network provides information about grief counseling and support groups that are available in Ada County.

You may also Contact Summers Funeral Homes for more information about grief support groups and grief counselors and reading materials and other Web sites that will help you or your family make this transition. If you are ready to preplan your funeral, take a few minutes to fill out this form. A Summers Funeral Homes staff member will contact you to set up a meeting to begin the funeral preplanning process.