Pick one (or one will be chosen for you).
If we haven’t met yet, i’m Tee Rogers – a funeral & cemetery pre-planning advisor in Central Florida serving you through Dignity Memorial. I love this role – helping to make the burden just a little lighter for families at such a difficult time and helping people i’ll never even meet – the people impacted far in the future by the loss of the person i’m meeting with today for a pre-planning session. Being there for you and your family is an honor, and a responsibility i take very seriously.
Plain truth: There are only three opportunities to meet with a funeral and cemetery professional & get final arrangements in order.
The third: at the time of a death
When a death occurs and there is no pre-planning (even if there is insurance – that is not the same as pre-planning), you’ll have to decide which funeral home to trust and work with your family. Then a funeral director will reach out to your family to schedule a meeting to sit down and make detailed decisions, sign contracts, and finalize everything.
Many people think that death is something to handle when it occurs – in fact, this is the worst time to be making heavy emotional and financial decisions. Questions are being thrown at you and you have to make decisions on the spot on one of the most difficult days of your life.
Many people describe this time as a blur and barely recall the decisions they made. Families tend to spend emotively here – investing much more than they otherwise would have.
The total sum of the bill is due at one time at the time of a loss – that’s why we see so many online fundraisers for funeral expenses. It’s only in pre-planning that we have the option to make payments over time.
The second: near the time of death
Sometimes we know a loss is coming soon – and may realize there’s no plan in place. This can create extra stress, and families start calling around for answers. But a funeral director doesn’t meet with a family until after the death occurs.
If a pre-planning advisor is available (and sometimes we are not), we may be able to do an urgent response to the hospice or hospital (or even in a virtual appointment) to get things in order before the loss occurs. This is helpful to families who want to get the business part of the transaction out of the way so that they can focus on their families.
As part of the process, we provide information and resources that give the family the opportunity to ask questions and to review the questions the funeral director is going to ask. They have a little time to discuss them with family and make decisions together.
My calendar is usually booked about two weeks out and while i try very hard to make time to assist families in crisis, it isn’t always possible.
The first: in advance
My goal as a pre-planning advisor is to ensure there are no financial, emotional, or logistical surprises on the day your family faces the loss of a loved one. I want to meet with you TODAY so that your family is protected from unnecessary trauma. Planning far in advance allows you to have things in order so that your family doesn’t have to face either of the situations above: the stress of planning in the storm of grief and chaos at or near a time of loss.
When we meet: I’m going to answer all of your questions – even ones you didn’t know you had. I’ll listen to your unique needs and wishes, and help you understand all of your options. I’ll help with financing that fits your budget; when you pay in advance you lock in today’s rates (inflation protection) and have the option to make payments over time.
When should you pre-plan? The younger you are when you plan the more you save and the more options we have for financing. More importantly, though, none of us know when. An unexpected loss is all the more devastating to a family and the younger you are when something happens, the more your family would benefit from a plan being in place.
One of my guiding quotes is by John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” Pre-planning is a way to do good … even after you can: your voice and love to guide your family when they need you most – when you’re no longer there to speak for yourself.
Let’s talk about it.
I work through all 15 Dignity Memorial locations in Central Florida. You can find the location closest to you at DignityMemorial.com, or I can help with the location when we chat by phone or email.
Appointments are available at any of these locations, with a facility tour and golf cart memorial park tour (if the location has a cemetery), 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Hours for tours at memorial parks may vary.
