How to Plan a Funeral: What to Decide Before, During and After
Planning a funeral is not something most people have done before. When the time comes, whether for yourself in advance or for someone who has just died, the decisions come quickly and without much guidance.
This article sets out what actually needs to be decided, in roughly the order you need to decide it. It covers planning ahead for your own funeral, arranging a funeral after a death, choosing a coffin, and the administrative work that continues once the service is over.
Planning your own funeral in advance
More people are choosing to set out their funeral wishes before they die. The reasons vary. Some want to spare their family from having to guess. Some have specific things they want and do not want. Some simply find it useful to think through.
You do not need a prepaid funeral plan to do this. A written document setting out your preferences, kept somewhere your family can find it, is often enough. It is worth telling at least one person where it is.
Things worth deciding in advance:
Burial or cremation. This is the first decision a family will face, and it shapes everything else. If you have a strong preference, record it clearly.
The type of service. A religious service, a humanist ceremony, a celebration of life, or no formal service at all. If there is a specific format you want, or one you do not want, say so.
The coffin. Most people never think about this, but it matters to some, and there is more choice than most families realise. See below.
Music, readings, who you want to speak. These do not need to be finalised, but noting preferences saves your family significant effort and uncertainty.
Where you want to be buried or where your ashes should go. If you have a specific wish here, record it. Some people have strong feelings; others genuinely do not mind.
A natural or green burial. If environmental considerations matter to you, there are options worth knowing about, including eco-friendly coffins and natural burial grounds. These need a little more advance planning than a standard burial.
Keep the document somewhere accessible. A copy with your solicitor or alongside your will is sensible. Telling family members where it is matters as much as writing it.
Arranging a funeral after a death
When someone dies, the immediate priority is registering the death and making the basic arrangements. After that, planning the funeral begins.
Most families work with a funeral director, who will guide the process. If you are arranging a funeral without a director, it is possible but requires more coordination with the crematorium or burial ground, the celebrant, and any other services you need.
The main decisions are:
Cremation or burial. If the person left wishes, follow them. If not, the family will need to agree.
The funeral director. It is worth getting quotes from more than one, as prices vary considerably. The FCA published research in 2025 noting ongoing concerns about price transparency in the sector. Ask for a full itemised quote before committing.
The date and venue. Crematoria and burial grounds have set slots. Church or other venue services need to be coordinated around these. Most funerals in the UK take place within two to three weeks of death, though this varies.
The officiant or celebrant. A vicar, priest, humanist celebrant, or civil funeral officiant, depending on the format of the service. Book early, as good celebrants get busy.
The coffin. See below.
The order of service. Music, readings, who is speaking, and in what order. Even for a simple service, having a printed order of service helps attendees follow what is happening.
The gathering afterwards. Venue, catering, who is organising it.
Choosing a coffin
The coffin is one of the decisions families tend to spend least time on, often because the options presented at the funeral director are limited and the moment does not lend itself to research.
The main material choices are wood, wicker, cardboard, and bamboo. Each has different characteristics in terms of appearance, environmental impact, and cost.
Wooden coffins are the most common. Solid hardwood is more expensive; veneered MDF is more affordable. Neither decomposes quickly.
Wicker and willow coffins are popular for natural burials. They look distinctive and biodegrade well.
Cardboard coffins are increasingly common, particularly for cremation and natural burial. The material has a reputation for flimsiness that is not accurate: premium cardboard coffins are built from double-walled recycled board, independently tested to over 160kg, and structurally equivalent to a standard wooden coffin for all practical purposes. They are also considerably lighter on emissions during cremation.
One thing cardboard does that wood cannot is take a full-colour printed design. Families can choose a photograph, a landscape, a piece of artwork, a pattern connected to something the person loved. Parley Green, a Dorset-based manufacturer, produce a bespoke range alongside their standard designs. The process runs from initial brief to delivery in three to five working days once a design is approved.
Bamboo coffins are another eco-friendly option, with faster decomposition than wood.
Whatever you choose, it is worth raising the question early, particularly if you want something bespoke or non-standard. Funeral directors are increasingly used to families coming with their own preference rather than selecting from a showroom range.
The funeral planning checklist
The following is not exhaustive, but covers the main tasks for most funerals in the UK.
Before the service:
Register the death (within five days in England and Wales)
Obtain the death certificate (you will need multiple copies)
Notify the funeral director
Confirm cremation or burial and book the date
Choose the coffin
Book the officiant or celebrant
Agree the order of service
Arrange flowers, if wanted
Notify family and friends
Place a death notice if appropriate
Confirm the gathering afterwards
At the service:
Order of service printed and available
Music arrangements confirmed with the crematorium or venue
Pallbearers confirmed if required
After the service:
Thank those who spoke or helped
Send acknowledgements for flowers and donations
After the funeral: the admin that still needs doing
The service is the visible part. What follows is less visible but considerable.
Every organisation the person had a relationship with needs to be told they have died. Banks, insurance providers, pension administrators, HMRC, the DVLA, utilities, subscription services, mobile providers, and many others. Each has its own process, its own requirements, and its own timeline.
Most families underestimate how many there are. Dormant accounts, old pensions, savings bonds, digital subscriptions, loyalty schemes. The list is rarely written down anywhere.
The government's Tell Us Once service notifies a range of public sector bodies in one step, which helps. It does not reach private sector organisations, which is where most of the work sits.
Legacy Trail was built specifically for this part of the process. They identify which accounts and organisations need to be notified, handle the communication on the family's behalf, and make sure nothing is missed or left open. For families already dealing with grief, probate, and everything else that follows a death, it removes a significant and repetitive administrative burden.
A note on planning ahead for the admin too
If you are planning your own funeral in advance, it is worth leaving a record of your accounts alongside your funeral wishes. A list of banks, pension providers, insurers, subscriptions, and digital accounts, with enough detail for someone else to find and close them, makes an enormous difference to whoever handles your estate.
Most people do not do this. The result is that families spend weeks or months trying to piece together a financial picture from paper statements, email inboxes, and guesswork.
Legacy Trail also offers guidance on what to record and how to leave it in a form that is actually useful. It is one of those things that takes an hour now and saves considerably more than that later.