We鈥檙e all going to die, but most of us aren鈥檛 preparing for it.
And that can mean a difficult time for loved ones, who are left scrambling to figure out what needs to be done when there no pre-arrangements made.
It can be anxiety-producing for many people, observed Shawn Carbonell, family service planner at Bakerview Memorial Cemetery in Aldergrove, who said fear can keep people from making funeral preparations in advance.
鈥淎 lot of people feel like if they make the plans, then they鈥檙e gonna die faster, right? It鈥檚 just not true, but I feel like a lot of people have that idea. It鈥檚 either, they fully see the benefits, or they鈥檙e terrified to death.鈥�
Jeremy May, owner of in 91原创 City, described pre-planning as 鈥渢he one decision that people want to defer the most, either to avoid it, or leave it to others.鈥�
May points to figures showing roughly 8,000 people die every day in North America, with only 2,000 of them having made prearrangement鈥檚.
鈥淭he other 6,000 a day, it鈥檚 a mess,鈥� May commented.
Carbonell said it can be overwhelming for survivors if no pre-arrangements have been made.
鈥淲hen a death occurs, the cemetery and funeral home are going to ask so many questions,鈥� Carbonell warned.
鈥淟ike what鈥檚 your SIN number? Where鈥檚 the deed to the home? How many bank accounts? And they鈥檙e all going to ask that on the day of the death. Some people, you know, they can鈥檛 think of all of these things. They don鈥檛 know where anything is, and it takes a long time.鈥�
May said when overwhelmed survivors 鈥渉ave to start making decisions on the spot at two in the morning, you can make ones that are hasty, that maybe don鈥檛 reflect the wishes of the deceased, and they can be costly.鈥�
Prearranging does two things, May explained.
鈥淚t allows you to put your wishes down on paper, to let them be known, and it allows you to freeze or lock in the cost.鈥�
The moment you leave a deposit, he said, the prices for both burial plots and funeral services are locked in.
That is not a small concern, he noted, with funeral prices rising, on average, 10 per cent a year.
A cemetery plot that cost about $750 when May started in the industry in 1993, is now going for more like $80,000, he estimates, and funeral prices are rising, on average, 10 per cent a year.
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Carbonnell said when people make pre-arrangements, they always feel better.
鈥淚鈥檝e never helped a family where they felt bad for making these arrangements,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e always obviously been a little bit scared to make the arrangements, but when it鈥檚 all said and done, and finalized, there鈥檚 just a big sigh of relief and they鈥檙e happy.鈥�
鈥淎t the end of the day, it鈥檚 a very simple concept,鈥� May said.
鈥淓veryone is going to die, and they need to plan for that. It鈥檚 100-per-cent inevitable, you can鈥檛 avoid it.鈥�
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