Abel Funeral Services

Abel Funeral Services - Phoenix

Making Long-Distance Funeral Arrangements

Retired loved ones often move to the Southwest to enjoy their retirement years. If a dear family member passes away while in retirement, surviving relatives may have to plan the funeral from their home state. These suggestions on long-distance funeral planning will help ease the process.

Stay Organized: The passing of a loved one is emotionally trying and can make it difficult to focus. If you have to arrange a funeral over the phone, take some extra time organizing your thoughts. Start by writing your questions on a piece of paper. Remember to inquire about pricing, dates, decorative arrangements, and obituary information. If your family member listed funeral instructions before passing, be sure to review these documents before calling the funeral home.
Choose Local Services: If your loved one would like to be buried in his or her current city, you’ll have to choose a funeral facility while out of state. Look for a home that has served the community for several years, offers numerous details on their website, and demonstrates good communication skills. The funeral director can even assist by explaining local funeral and cemetery laws.
 

Communicate Frequently: Once the funeral home has been chosen, it’s important to keep in touch with the funeral director. Double-checking arrangements ensures that every detail is up to your standards. You should also keep family members up to date on any new funeral development. Sharing dates, details, and location information early will give your loved ones enough time to prepare their travel plans.
Consider Pre-Arrangements: If your parent or another aging loved one lives out of state, consider the benefits of pre-arrangements. This allows your family member to choose his or her funeral home, arrange for burial or cremation, and express his or her needs directly to the funeral director.

Abel Funeral Services is a compassionate funeral home serving the Phoenix, Peoria, and Scottsdale areas. If your loved one passes while in the state of Arizona, our experienced funeral director can help ease your burdens. Call us at (602) 442-7747 to find out how we can simplify your funeral planning.

How Pre-Planning Your Funeral Can Take Pressure Off Of Your Loved Ones

If you have learned something from our recent blog posts, which have discussed important considerations to make when pre-planning a funeral and options for the storage or disbursement of one’s remains following a cremation, then you may find the following resources helpful. To pre-arrange your funeral or make plans for a loved one’s funeral or memorial service in the Phoenix area, call Abel Funeral Services at (602) 442-7747 to speak with a caring and dedicated funeral service planner today.

• Learn more about how pre-planning your funeral will take pressure off of your loved ones by reading this article at funeralplanning101.com.
• Visit funeralplan.com to read about 81 decisions that need to be made when pre-planning your funeral or planning the funeral of a loved one.
• Explore the National Funeral Directors Association’s website to find out more about making advanced funeral arrangements.
• The Grand Canyon is a popular final destination for the cremated remains of many native Arizonans. For information on having a loved one’s ashes scattered at this world renowned national park, visit the official website of the National Park Service.
• Read more about the scattering of cremated remains and the law at the Funeral Consumers Alliance’s official website.

What to Consider When Making Pre-Funeral Arrangements

Making your own funeral arrangements can provide you with the peace of mind that your funeral wishes will be carried out in accordance with their preferences. It also spares your loved ones the time, stress, and uncertainty that come with making funeral decisions for someone else; and it can be less expensive than a funeral that is planned after someone’s death. If you are thinking about pre-arranging your funeral, follow these steps:

Meet with a Funeral Home Director

It’s a good idea to meet with a funeral director to pre-arrange most or all of the components of your funeral. The director will be able to give you an overview of all the options available for every aspect of the funeral you plan, lending more certainty to the funeral service decisions you express.

Burial vs. Cremation

Deciding whether to bury or cremate a loved one is a decision that family members of loved ones who pass away without having expressed their funeral wishes agonize over. You can spare them that decision by making it yourself.

Interment of Body

You should also decide whether you will be buried in a single plot, a family vault, or—if you are opting for cremation—how and where you would like your cremated remains to be stored.

Personalization Options

In terms of the specifics of your funeral service, you have numerous options. You can choose your own floral arrangements, tributary music, and even any prized possessions you may wish to be buried with.

Prepayment

Many funeral homes provide you with the option of paying for all or part of your funeral service in advance. Assess your current financial status, and determine whether or not you have the means to lift another major burden from your loved ones’ shoulders.

Are you a Phoenix-area resident who is looking for an experienced and knowledgeable funeral service provider to help you pre-arrange your funeral? If so, Abel Funeral Services can help you. Call (602) 442-7747 to arrange a meeting at which you can have all of your questions answered and learn more about why pre-planning your funeral is both thoughtful and cost-effective.

Different Methods of Keeping or Disposing of Cremated Remains

When it comes to making decisions about your funeral or that of a loved one, simply choosing between burial and cremation is not the end of the post-life body handling decision. Once you have decided on cremation, you must decide how and where the cremated remains will be stored or disposed of. Here is an overview of some of the options that exist for storing or scattering a loved one’s ashes.

Storage:

Cremation Urn

The most common method for storing cremated remains is an urn. Depending on your budget and your personal preferences, you will likely have a lot of materials, shapes, and sizes to choose from. A cremation urn can be stored in a home display case, on a mantel, or even in a personal garden. You can also elect to store your loved one’s ashes in an urn at a cemetery columbarium.

Cremation Memorial

Grave markers, memorial rocks, and cremation benches are three common types of cremation memorials. If you are working with a flexible funeral home, however, even more options may be available.

Cremation Jewelry

Jewelry is a more recently developed option for storing a loved one’s ashes. For individuals who want physically to keep their loved one close to them at all times after he or she has passed away, a cremation jewelry pendant with a repository for a small amount of cremated remains can be designed to fit a necklace or bracelet.

Disbursement:

Scattering on Your Own Land

A popular option for disposing of cremated remains is to scatter them on one’s own land or the cemetery grounds belonging to the funeral home.

Scattering on Someone Else’s Land

If there was a natural setting that your loved one was particularly fond of, you may be able to scatter his or her ashes there. State laws vary, but permission is almost always required from the landowner before this can be carried out.

Abel Funeral Services in Phoenix seeks to take as much stress out of the funeral planning process as possible. To learn more about our cremation and remains disposal services, call (602) 442-7747.