Questions to Ask When Planning a Funeral in Singapore
It can be difficult to think about a loved one’s mortality, but it’s a reality of life that everyone must face eventually. Holding a funeral involves plenty of planning, which in turn requires asking a good deal of questions.
And what are those questions, you ask? Well, that’s exactly what we’re covering in this guide. We’ve laid out some important questions that you must ask when planning your own or a loved one’s funeral in Singapore.
Do I or they want to be buried or cremated?
This is one of the first things that you should settle before anything else. In fact, you’ll need this information by the time you or a family member will obtain a death certificate.
Due to the land scarcity in Singapore, most families opt to go for cremation instead. It’s a more affordable and productive method of managing a loved one’s remains.
You may opt for burial if your religious beliefs, such as Islam, require it. Under Singapore law, you or a loved one can still choose to be buried, subject to a 15-year burial grave limit.
This means that the remains need to be exhumed after 15 years. Afterwhich, the remains may either be cremated or transferred to smaller plots.
How do I or they wish to be memorialised?
Funerals are a way to celebrate and remember the life of a person. For starters, you can ask yourself or a loved one what type of funeral you want to have.
You can opt for a full-blown funeral, complete with a 3-day wake followed by a burial or cremation. Alternatively, you may also consider having a simple funeral—no wakes or memorial services, just a brief ceremony before scattering your ashes at sea, for instance.
If you follow a certain religion, it can be helpful to familiarise yourself with your religion’s funeral practices and see which one of those should absolutely be present in the funeral.
Knowing this will help you plan the memorial service or programme just the way you want. It can also help you figure out how long you want the wake to be, which will ultimately affect costs.
What kinds of packages do funeral service providers offer?
Having an answer to the previous question will also help you in narrowing down your options for funeral service providers, if you’re thinking about pre-planning.
In Singapore, there are service providers specialising in Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, Catholic, Hindu, Chinese, Muslim, and free thinker funerals.
These service providers offer all-inclusive and customisable packages. In some cases, they also offer pre-planning services, which will allow you to lock in current prices and avoid inflated rates in the future.
What is my budget?
Finally, it’s highly recommended to set aside a specific budget way before the funeral. This will ease some financial burden on your family members when the time comes.
Setting a strict budget also prevents your family from overspending eventually. Make sure to discuss this with your family beforehand, so it won’t present much of a problem later on.