Planning your own funeral
When the time comes, it can be a great comfort to your loved ones to be able to conform to your wishes. It can therefore help ease an already difficult time by planning your own funeral in advance. By leaving written instructions, you can avoid any uncertainty on their part as to your intentions.
Our advance wishes form suggests various options for consideration at the end of your life, from burial to donation to science. If you wish to be buried in a green burial ground, you should bear in mind that your loved ones might encounter some difficulty in accessing the site if it is in a remote place.
When planning your own funeral, you can consider what kind of ceremony you would want. Of course, there’s no compulsion to have any kind of ceremony. For example, you have the option of a ‘direct cremation’. However, even if you choose to donate your body to science, you can still have a memorial ceremony to celebrate your life, which would allow your loved ones to say goodbye.
Humanist Society Scotland’s advance wishes form can be edited online or printed off and completed by hand. We advise you to keep a copy of your wishes (even if not fully completed) with other important documents, such as your Last Will and Testament (Will).
Speak to a celebrant
We have celebrants located right across Scotland.
