When arranging a funeral for a deceased person, what should be followed? Should the funeral home agree to fulfil the wishes of the living family in terms of the funeral arrangements, or should they fulfil the desires of the deceased as stated in that person’s last will and testament? There are advantages and disadvantages in following either of the two choices. 

Choosing the living family’s wishes. When a family member dies, the whole family is involved. The event will leave the whole family devastated with grief especially if the death was unexpected. If the death of the person had been anticipated; such as the death of a family member who has been battling a terminal illness for awhile, then the family might be a little relieved with the death. Nevertheless, the whole family will still feel grief and each member will take part in making the final arrangements for their dearly departed. If the person who died did not have any preneed arrangements such as those that can be made with preneed funeral arrangements Guatemala, then the surviving family members will be left responsible with making such decisions. 

There are advantages in letting the living family decide on the funeral arrangements. They say that two heads are better than one, so when it comes to funeral arrangements, the more family members who will be responsible for the arrangements will ensure that no detail is overlooked. Remember that this is a time for grieving and therefore, if only one member of the family is given the task to make the funeral arrangements, he or she might be too grief-stricken that he/she may get confused. 

Another advantage in letting family members decide is that all ideas or suggestions will be heard and that a compromise can be made to satisfy all the members of the family. There are members of the family who may be more traditional than others when it comes to funeral rituals and would like the service to be traditional as well, while there may be others who would like to have a more contemporary funeral service. By letting all the family decide will enable a compromise with conflicting suggestions. 

Letting the living family decide may also be disadvantageous. Just as the saying “too many chefs ruins the dish” goes, too many suggestions from family members regarding funeral arrangements may be difficult to handle. Arguments from choosing whether to bury or cremate may arise especially between traditional and modern members of the family. 
Following the last will. The last will and testament of the deceased is a powerful legal document since most governments will follow the arrangements stated in this document to the tee if the government agrees that the wishes of the deceased are attainable. There are advantages in following the last will of the deceased in terms of funeral arrangements. 

One advantage is that all the deceased wishes regarding his/her funeral are already stated in his/her will. If there was a pre-arranged service with a funeral home, then the surviving family will no longer have to concern themselves with making arrangements allowing them to have more time coping with their grief or celebrating the life of the deceased. 
A person who is anticipating death due to a terminal illness may state all his/her final arrangements in his/her last will and testament so that these may be followed once he/she passes away. A person can state whether his/her body is to be cremated or buried, what color he/she wants his/her coffin to be, where his/her body is to be buried or his/her ashes spread out. 

A person can also state the people he/she wants to become his/her pallbearers or who to speak at his/her eulogy. He/she can also decide if he/she would like to have a memorial service or a visitation. The priest who will give the final blessing can also be identified in the last will and testament. However, a person who will state his/her final wishes regarding his/her funeral arrangements in his/her testament should make sure that his/her requests will not be too outrageous. This person should also assign somebody to act as his/her agent which will ensure that his/her requests are followed. 

Article by Dunbar Winston of FuneralesReforma, who is a specialist in hispanic estate planning. For more information on servicio funerario Guatemala and contratos funerarios, visit his site today.