Your Funeral Wishes Checklist: Everything to Decide Before You Buy a Plan

Thinking about funeral wishes isn’t something most people do lightly. For many, it’s a quiet, practical step taken during a calm moment – a way to reflect on personal values and make thoughtful decisions for the future. Simply put, funeral wishes are your preferences for how you’d like your funeral to be handled one day, from the type of service to the personal touches that matter most to you.

Importantly, recording your funeral wishes is not about arranging a funeral now, nor is it something that needs to be acted on immediately. It’s about planning ahead, at your own pace, so that when the time comes, your wishes are clear and your loved ones aren’t left guessing. Many people find reassurance in knowing they’ve taken this small but meaningful step in advance.

By breaking decisions down into manageable areas, a funeral wishes checklist allows you to explore your preferences gradually and gain clarity before choosing a prepaid funeral plan. Rather than feeling overwhelming, it provides structure, transparency and time to consider what really matters to you.

This guide is designed to help you feel informed, confident and in control as you think about your funeral wishes, offering clear guidance, practical examples and gentle reassurance.

What are Funeral Wishes?

Wishes for a funeral are simply a record of your personal preferences for how you would like your funeral to look and feel in the future. They may include choices such as the type of service you prefer, the atmosphere you’d like to create and any meaningful details that reflect your values or personality. Funeral wishes are about expressing what matters to you.

It’s important to understand how funeral wishes differ from other forms of planning you may already be familiar with. A will deals with legal and financial matters, such as your estate and beneficiaries, and typically only comes into effect after death. It doesn’t usually cover practical or personal details about a funeral service itself.

A prepaid funeral plan, on the other hand, is focused on finding and organising certain funeral services in advance. It sets out what is included financially and helps protect against future cost increases. Alongside a funeral wishes document, they provide emotional clarity and practical reassurance for the future.

Reassuringly, funeral wishes are not fixed or final. Your circumstances, views or preferences may change over time, and your wishes can be updated whenever you feel the need. Many people see them as a living document, one that evolves with them and continues to reflect their choices as they plan ahead with confidence.

Why You Should Decide Your Funeral Wishes Before Buying a Plan

Taking time to think through your preferences before choosing a funeral plan can make a difference to how confident and comfortable you feel about planning ahead. When your wishes are clear from the outset, it becomes much easier to select a prepaid funeral plan that genuinely suits you, rather than trying to make it fit around decisions made later.

Clarity upfront also helps avoid common issues such as underfunding or unexpected additional costs in the future. Prepaid funeral plans typically cover agreed services, but personal choice can affect what’s included. By deciding your funeral wishes first, you’re better placed to understand what level of cover may be appropriate and where flexibility might be needed.

Importantly, this approach ensures your plan reflects your personal values. Planning ahead during a calm period allows you to think carefully about what matters. Many people find that this leads to a stronger sense of reassurance and control.

Deciding your funeral wishes in advance can also reduce emotional and financial pressure on loved ones. When preferences and funding are clearly aligned, family members are spared the burden of guessing what you would have wanted or worrying about costs. Instead, they can take comfort in knowing your wishes were thoughtfully considered and planned ahead of time.

Your Funeral Wishes Checklist

This funeral wishes checklist is designed to be a practical, working document. You can complete it gradually, revisit it whenever you like and update it as your preferences or circumstances change.

1. Type of Service You Would Like

One of the first things to consider is the overall type of service you would prefer. This doesn’t need to be technical or detailed; it’s simply about capturing general wishes for a funeral.

You may want to think about:

• Whether you would prefer burial or cremation
• A religious, spiritual or non-religious service
• A formal ceremony, an informal gathering or a private farewell
• How important flexibility is to you, should preferences change over time

These choices help shape the tone of a future service and provide a helpful starting point for any further planning.

2. Location and Setting Preferences

Your preferences around location can also form an important part of your funeral wishes. This might include:

• The type of place where you’d like the service to take place, such as a crematorium, a place of worship or an alternative venue
• Whether you prefer an indoor or outdoor setting, where applicable
• Any thoughts about keeping arrangements local or allowing for a broader location

At this stage, it’s about recording what feels right to you, not making firm arrangements or cost-based decisions.

3. Personal Touches and Meaningful Details

Personal touches often make a service feel more meaningful and reflective of the individual. Consider whether there are any details you’d like to note, such as:

• Music, readings or poems that are important to you
• Dress code preferences or colours you’d like people to wear
• Whether you would prefer flowers or charitable donations
• Any cultural, religious or family traditions you’d want to be considered

A funeral wishes example might be:

“I would like a simple, non-religious service with my favourite music played. I’d prefer people to wear bright colours rather than black, and I’d like donations to be made to a charity that’s important to me instead of flowers.”

Simple statements like this can provide guidance in the future.

4. Who You Want Involved

Another key part of your funeral wishes is deciding who should be involved and informed. This may include:

• Who you want to know about your wishes
• Whether there are roles loved ones would feel comfortable taking on (or would prefer not to)
• How much responsibility you want others to have

Clear guidance here can help avoid uncertainty or difficult decisions later and ensure your wishes are understood.

5. Budget Awareness and Additional Costs

Being aware of costs is an important part of planning ahead, and it’s best approached with openness and clarity. Prepaid funeral plans typically cover core services, which can help with future budgeting and financial planning.

However, it’s helpful to be aware that some preferences may involve additional costs that are not always included in a plan, such as certain personalisation choices.

The aim isn’t to create concern, but to support informed decision making. Understanding how your wishes may relate to costs allows you to consider affordability, long-term value and whether flexibility is important to you when planning ahead.

6. Flexibility for the Future

Finally, it’s worth remembering that your funeral wishes don’t have to be set in stone. Preferences, circumstances and priorities can change over time, and your wishes can change with them.

When writing down your funeral wishes, consider:

• Whether you’d like the option to update them in the future
• Choosing approaches that allow flexibility rather than rigid decisions
• Reassuring yourself that this is a guide, not a final commitment

Many people find comfort in knowing their funeral wishes can evolve, offering peace of mind as they continue planning ahead in a way that feels right for them.

Writing Down Your Funeral Wishes

Deciding to write down your funeral wishes doesn’t have to be complicated. The most important thing is choosing a method that feels comfortable and is easy to revisit in the future.

Some people prefer a written document, such as a simple list or checklist, kept with other important papers. Others choose a digital record, which can be updated more easily over time and stored securely.

It can also be beneficial to share your wishes with family or trusted individuals, so they’re aware of your preferences and know where to find them. This doesn’t need to be a formal conversation or involve final decisions. Many people find that mentioning their wishes gradually, in a calm and pressure-free way, makes the topic feel more natural and less daunting.

Accessibility is key. Your funeral wishes should be easy to locate and understand when they’re needed, without causing confusion or uncertainty. Keeping them clearly labelled and letting someone know where they’re stored can provide reassurance for everyone involved.

How Funeral Wishes Fit into a Prepaid Funeral Plan

A funeral wishes plan plays an important role in shaping how a prepaid funeral plan is set up. While funeral wishes focus on your personal preferences, a plan is designed to help fund and organise agreed services in advance. When the two are considered together, planning becomes clearer, more balanced and more reassuring.

Your funeral wishes help guide the structure of a prepaid funeral plan by identifying what matters most to you. Whether that’s the type of service, the level of formality or certain personal touches, having these decisions thought through in advance makes it easier to choose a plan that aligns with your expectations. Instead of trying to adapt later, the plan can be selected with your preferences in mind from the start.

Funeral plans work best when they’re based on informed choices rather than assumptions. Understanding how your wishes connect to what a plan typically covers allows you to make decisions calmly and confidently, without uncertainty about what’s included. This approach supports transparency and helps ensure your plan feels appropriate for your individual needs.

Combining clear funeral wishes with a prepaid funeral plan provides comfort knowing your preferences have been considered and that practical arrangements have been thoughtfully planned, offering reassurance for you now and clarity for loved ones in the future.

A Thoughtful Way to Plan Ahead

Taking the time to work through your funeral wishes can offer emotional reassurance and practical clarity. By thinking ahead in a calm, considered way, you give yourself the opportunity to reflect on what matters most to you, while also helping to reduce uncertainty for loved ones in the future. Many people find comfort in knowing their preferences are recorded and that key decisions won’t need to be guessed at later.

If you’d like to explore planning options for the future, get in touch with our team today to find out more.