Several years ago I attended my second husband’s funeral. We had been divorced for almost twelve years — and I know that’s a long time — but the man reflected in the service was in no way the man I knew. It felt strange. And it set me to thinking about what I’d want my funeral to look like. Turns out planning your funeral not only has emotional upsides, there are some financial benefits too.

One of the biggest advantages of planning your own funeral is that you’re making all those could-be-very-expensive decisions at a time when the stress levels are nowhere near as high as if your best buddy had just kicked the bucket.

The average cost of a funeral ranges from about $5,000 to around $7,000 and usually includes:

• The transfer of remains
• Embalming and Preparation
• Use of facilities for viewing and service
• A solid wood casket with velvet interior
• Hearse and limousine
• Professional service charges.

Knowing that your partner wants a plain pine box, has agreed to a plain pine box, has insisted on a plain pine box isn’t the same as having paid for a plain pine box when it comes time to plant him or her. Many are the stories I’ve heard of spouses and children who have overridden their partner’s or parents’ desire for simplicity because they were pressured — be it by a smooth-talking salesman, by family, or by their perception of societal demands — into going with something far more elaborate… and expensive.

Isn’t it better to look at all the options available and decide which is right for you in the rationale light of day so you or your family won’t end up spending more than they can afford? Having made all the decisions ahead of D-day, you’ve eliminated your family’s struggle with the decision-making at a time when they least need the added pressure.

You can even pre-pay your funeral. C’mon Gail, why would I do a stupid thing like that?

It may not be so stupid. Did you know you can pre-fund the expenses related to your funeral, burial, cremation or cemetery arrangements in Canada up to a maximum of $15,000 over your lifetime and the income accrued in the eligible funeral arrangement or EFA can grow on a tax-free basis?

If you had decided to spend the equivalent of today’s $15,000 on your funeral and stuck your fifteen grand in an account to compound and, hopefully, keep pace with inflation, you’d be required to declare and pay tax on the interest earned each year. Not so with an EFA. All the income you earned on that funeral money is tax-free. In essence, you are buying your funeral in today’s dollars despite what it may cost in the future.

You pick how much you want to spend on your big day and write a cheque to the funeral home, which puts the money into trust where it sits until you fall off your perch. When you die, the trust account is closed, the funeral home covers the cost of the funeral, and anything left (ha!) is returned to the estate. If inflation has outpaced your pre-paid package, your family isn’t on the hook for another penny.

It makes sense to look into this funeral stuff at much the same time that you’re dealing with the other “death” issues, like your will, although most people put it off until they’re moving into retirement. If you’re planning to put an aging parent into a nursing home, you might be surprised at how many make pre-planned funerals mandatory as part of their acceptance of a new client.

If you’re hesitating about planning your funeral because you have no idea where you’ll end up living in Canada when you retire, you don’t have to delay your decision. Funeral homes routinely transfer these prearrangements so you can be buried where you died, if that’s your family’s wish. And if you change your mind about your pre-paid funeral, you can cancel the contract with a letter. If you cancel the agreement after thirty days, however, the Funeral Directors & Establishments Act allows a funeral director to charge an admin fee of not more than 10% of the package you bought, to a maximum of $200, plus tax.

I’m not a fan of funerals… I avoid them whenever at all possible. I’ve left instructions to give away all the parts of my body that can be reused. The kids can then sell me to some pharmaceutical company – body parts are in big demand and carry a significant price tag – or they can cremate me and use the ashes to keep the bugs off the tomato plants. But for all those people who for religious or personal reasons plan to be planted, do your family a favour and start thinking about what their lives will be like the week you kick the bucket.