How to Record Your Funeral Wishes

A practical way to document preferences without turning planning into a sales decision.

Lena Brooks

Advance Planning Advisor

August 9, 2026

8 min read

Editorial cover for How to Record Your Funeral Wishes

IN THIS ARTICLE

01 Start with the context

02 What to consider

03 Questions to carry forward

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Call a funeral director

Pre-planning and pre-funding are related but separate. Pre-planning means documenting preferences and identifying the people who should be involved. Pre-funding means entering a financial arrangement governed by specific contracts and state rules.

01 · START WITH THE CONTEXT

Begin with the decisions that matter most to you: burial or cremation, the type of gathering, cultural or religious traditions, music, readings, speakers and the people who should be contacted.

02 · WHAT TO CONSIDER

Record where important documents are kept and who has authority to make arrangements. Share the existence of your plan with that person rather than leaving it where no one knows to look.

Supporting image for How to Record Your Funeral Wishes

03 · QUESTIONS TO CARRY FORWARD

If you consider funding arrangements, ask how funds are held, whether prices are guaranteed, what happens if you move and which cancellation or transfer terms apply. Do not assume these terms are the same in every state.

PRACTICAL NOTE

A planning conversation should leave you clearer, not pressured. It is reasonable to take documents home and review them before signing.

EDITORIAL NOTE

Financial and legal details should be reviewed with qualified local professionals.

NEED A SPECIFIC ANSWER?

Bring the question to a real conversation.

The journal can prepare you, but a funeral director can explain how timing, local requirements and your family’s choices fit together.

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