Whenever we're asked what's involved in funeral preplanning, here's what we say: a certain amount of consumer research, some time spent in thoughtful introspection and, most likely; a conversation with family and/or friends. That's it. Honestly, for most people, getting started in the hardest part. Once you make the decision to begin preplanning a funeral (for yourself or a family member); it's just a matter of sticking with it.

We know it's not something people are eager to do; after all, who wants to think about dying? Yet we must; as Japanese author Haruki Murakami wrote, "Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it." (Source: Goodreads.com) It could be said accepting that fact is the very first step in preplanning a funeral.

With step two, the actual work of preplanning a funeral begins. It involves deciding how the body will be cared for after death. In other words, would you (or your family member) prefer a traditional casketed whole-body burial instead of cremation? Everything else you'll need to think about comes from that one initial decision.