We乌鸦传媒檙e all going to die, but most of us aren乌鸦传媒檛 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.

乌鸦传媒淎 lot of people feel like if they make the plans, then they乌鸦传媒檙e gonna die faster, right? It乌鸦传媒檚 just not true, but I feel like a lot of people have that idea. It乌鸦传媒檚 either, they fully see the benefits, or they乌鸦传媒檙e terrified to death.乌鸦传媒�

Jeremy May, owner of in Langley City, described pre-planning as 乌鸦传媒渢he one decision that people want to defer the most, either to avoid it, or leave it to others.乌鸦传媒�

May points to figures showing roughly 8,000 people die every day in North America, with only 2,000 of them having made prearrangements.

乌鸦传媒淭he other 6,000 a day, it乌鸦传媒檚 a mess,乌鸦传媒� May commented.

Carbonell said it can be overwhelming for survivors if no pre-arrangements have been made.

乌鸦传媒淲hen a death occurs, the cemetery and funeral home are going to ask so many questions,乌鸦传媒� Carbonell warned.

乌鸦传媒淟ike what乌鸦传媒檚 your SIN number? Where乌鸦传媒檚 the deed to the home? How many bank accounts? And they乌鸦传媒檙e all going to ask that on the day of the death. Some people, you know, they can乌鸦传媒檛 think of all of these things. They don乌鸦传媒檛 know where anything is, and it takes a long time.乌鸦传媒�

May said when overwhelmed survivors 乌鸦传媒渉ave to start making decisions on the spot at two in the morning, you can make ones that are hasty, that maybe don乌鸦传媒檛 reflect the wishes of the deceased, and they can be costly.乌鸦传媒�

Prearranging does two things, May explained.

乌鸦传媒淚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.乌鸦传媒�

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.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e never helped a family where they felt bad for making these arrangements,乌鸦传媒� he said.

乌鸦传媒淭hey乌鸦传媒檝e always obviously been a little bit scared to make the arrangements, but when it乌鸦传媒檚 all said and done, and finalized, there乌鸦传媒檚 just a big sigh of relief and they乌鸦传媒檙e happy.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淎t the end of the day, it乌鸦传媒檚 a very simple concept,乌鸦传媒� May said.

乌鸦传媒淓veryone is going to die, and they need to plan for that. It乌鸦传媒檚 100-per-cent inevitable, you can乌鸦传媒檛 avoid it.乌鸦传媒�

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