Life ends, inevitably, with up to two million people dying in the United States alone on a yearly basis. If there is one thing that we all have in common, it is that all of our lives are finite and will not go on forever. Fortunately, life is long, the longest thing that we will ever do, and so we hope to have a great deal of time to come to terms with the end of it. However, pragmatism is a must when we think about the ends of our lives, especially as we get closer to it, either due to injury, illness, or even just old age.

For one thing, we must always think about those who we are leaving behind. If we have had children or have a partner or siblings or beyond, it is likely that there will be someone close to us who will remain among the leaving even after we ourselves pass. In order to ensure their comfort and stability, there are a number of things to keep in mind. For one thing, writing a will is a matter of huge importance even though far too few people have actually written one out as of the current date. However, writing out a will is something that can most certainly be tremendously beneficial in the lives of a great many people, and is something that can carry out the legacy of a person even after they have passed away.

Aside from writing out a will to ensure that those you love are able to remain comfortable after your death, you must also consider your funeral. More and more often, people are taking matters into their own hands and planning out their future funeral services themselves. As a matter of fact, this is something that the data surrounding the subject more than backs up. This data shows that more than 65% of the population (around 69% of it, for that matter) has stated that they want to have some hand in planning their funeral services. Planning your own funeral, after all, can open the door to a discussion surrounding end of life wishes, something that the vast majority of people – around 89% of them – have stated as being meaningful. What you want for the end of your life and directly after it matters, both for yourself as well as for your loved ones who will surround you in this final period.

Ultimately, there are many things involved in planning your average funeral services, and this can be a huge load to bear right after the passing of a loved one. From funeral caskets to getting the chance to pay your respects, it can all seem very overwhelming indeed. Fortunately, funeral pre-arrangements for funeral services can take much of this weight off of the shoulders of a loved one and is therefore a common reason that people will plan their own funeral services while they are still alive, even if these funeral services don’t come to be for many more years in the future.

But how exactly can you plan these funeral services, before or after death? Planning a funeral will typically occur with the help of a funeral director, of which there are many found all throughout the United States. Funeral directors are essential for many funeral services, and even pre arranged funeral services can benefit from the knowledge and accommodations that a funeral director is typically able to provide. Again, this is something that is very much supported by the statistics that surround it, as these statistics have found that more than 80% of all those that were surveyed thought that the services that funeral directors could provide to those in need of them were quite incredibly valuable indeed. Therefore, funeral directors are often considered quite essential indeed to planning all kinds of funeral services out there. Ultimately, hiring a funeral director is often the way to go, a person who can make an otherwise incredibly difficult period of mourning.

Thinking about death is hard, but making steps to take care of all that comes after can leave you with a feeling of peace and contentedness at the thought of your life’s end.