Home Funeral ?

To Have a Home Funeral

Life lends itself well to all kinds of exploration and new experiences. One possibility is to have a home funeral.

Having a home funeral is still a fairly new idea in America.

Really it is a modern twist on funerals of long ago held on the prairie or on a mountainside near a community who knew each other as well as the deceased.

The purpose of having a funeral is to give meaning and depth to the life of a community member.

A funeral gives people who knew the deceased the chance to feel and express their story and experiences with the one who died.

Sharing stories about the deceased helps clear the way for the grieving process. It is very reassuring to have the home funeral even before the deceased has been taken for burial or cremation.

Having a home funeral is an activity that creates memories so powerful and often so healing that it becomes a larger and more important than other experiences with the deceased, an experience one carries and treasures for life.

Just the act of sharing together as family and community of friends bonds people at this time of crisis.

Whether you have a funeral at a mortuary or have it at home, there are many legal, financial, emotional and social aspects to be considered. The choice requires a little planning.

It is helpful to plan and prepare for the service ahead of time. When you have made your plans, you can establish a payable–on-death account at your bank and name the person or persons who are to take care of the deceased’s affairs as the administrator and beneficiary. Usually there are no probate costs when you plan properly.

Death is a family affair as well as a community occurrence. To fully prepare a good idea is to discuss your wishes regarding a home funeral or and a memorial service with close family members.

Consultation with an attorney and a financial advisor before locking in funeral arrangements can save you money.

A home funeral can be a very positive life experience. It can be on flex time. It is a very simple process. You can have someone present representing the religious life if you want. One of the reasons a home funeral is so comforting is that the deceased can have ideas about what he or she wants and leave a plan for it.

Family and friends can add to it if they want. There is no set protocol for a home funeral. It is essentially a natural and very simple service, one that bestows many blessings on the family of the deceased.

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Rebecca Field, 3/2014