PRE-PLANNING COLUMBUS OHIO

Creating advance funeral plans involves discussing what you want your funeral to be like. Do you prefer a traditional ceremony at a funeral home, a memorial service, or a graveside service? Should the service be religious or non-religious? If you served in the military, you may be eligible for funeral honors that the US Department of Veterans Affairs offers qualifying veterans. Our funeral directors will explain the different service styles available so you can make an informed decision. You can also make note of any traditions or religious rites you’d like included, floral arrangements and memorabilia you’d like on display, and music you’d like to have played. If you know who you want to give the eulogy, make a speech, or serve as pallbearers, you can name them in the plans, as well. Contact us to learn more about our service options.

Another aspect of funeral planning is choosing between burial and cremation, and where your final resting place will be. We will gather information from you regarding the cemetery. At Graumlich we have many options in selecting a casket and vault to fit your budget. We will explain the different types of caskets as well as vaults. Vaults have more variations in how they’re made compared to caskets. Not all vaults are constructed as an “air seal” that creates a pressure to keep water from rising up and getting into the casket.  Veterans may qualify to be buried in a national cemetery and/or for a grave maker with engraving, provided by the VA with documented DD214 form. If you decide cremation, you can choose the urn or container for the cremains as well as who will receive it. You’ll also choose where the urn should be kept, such as someone’s home or in a columbarium. We recommend that you have a final resting place for your urn such as being buried at a cemetery or placed in a niche at cemetery. If you would like your cremains to be scattered (within local and state laws), you can make a note of where that should take place and who should scatter them. 

When you prepare the arrangements ahead of time, you have several options for funding the services, including pre-funding the funeral. Pre-funding helps ensure the payments will be taken care of and your family won’t have the burden of coming up with the funding at the time of death. If you need to apply for Medicaid, Graumlichs will explain how the process applies to pre-funding services. If you’re not prefunding your services and only preplanning, as is the case in certain scenarios, the funeral directors will explain the details of what this option means. If you choose to use an existing life insurance policy you have they will explain the process as to how this option will be. We’re here to answer any questions you have. Our goal is for you to choose what is most beneficial to your needs.

Creating a plan ahead of time provides you and your family a variety of benefits. It allows you to express your wishes for the future, offers you and your family peace of mind, and relieves your family from the burden of planning a funeral while grieving. Your family enjoys peace of mind, too, knowing they won’t have to make last-minute decisions while processing their grief. Many decisions must be made within a day or two following the passing of a loved one. Without pre-written directions, your family must guess what you would have wanted, and be left to wonder if they made the right decisions. Preplanning ensures your family knows your wishes to carry out, allowing them to be more present while they honor you and begin their healing journey.