Talking with your parents about their funeral wishes may not be something you’ve considered doing, but there are many benefits in taking this important step. You can help your parents complete the preplanning process. By talking with your parents now, you can ensure that any decision they make now is with a clear mind.

Preplanning ensures that you know what their wishes are so that they can be fulfilled. Talking with your parents about preplanning will provide you with information you likely didn’t know before. Many questions need to be addressed during the funeral planning process, if you already know your parent’s wishes; you can answer with confidence.

Sitting down and going through the preplanning process as a family can also help to prevent future family disagreements. The loss of a loved one is a very emotional time, and if a family is torn about which options to choose, emotions can run high. Even when a general consensus is reached, family members can sometimes continue to feel anxiety, doubt and regret about the decisions that were made. However, if you sit down with your parents now to determine exactly what they want, everyone will experience greater peace in the future knowing their final wishes were honored.

Planning in advance can also help to keep the cost of a funeral down. When planning a funeral at a time of need, emotions often play a huge factor that results in overspending to get a loved one the “best” options as a way to show our love. Sitting down with your parents now to discuss exactly what their wishes are, can help defray costs. Prefunding can also be arranged in advance to relieve the burden from family members.

Lastly, preplanning their funeral can provide your parents with peace of mind, knowing everything is taken care of. Your family can rest easy knowing that the difficult decisions are already made.