If you find yourself in a position where you have to arrange the funeral of a loved one this year, it can be a daunting task if you have never arranged a funeral before. There are a few things that you need to know when arranging a funeral.

Find Out if Your Loved One Had a Funeral Plan

The first thing that you need to do is find out if your loved one has a funeral plan in place. Some people pay for funeral plans that cover the cost of a casket or cremation as well as all other burial costs. If your loved one had a funeral plan in place, you are going to want to access the paperwork on their funeral plan. A funeral plan can save you from having to pay all the costs of the funeral on your own. You may still run into some small expenses that you need to cover yourself, but the large costs should be taken care of.

Find Out if Your Loved One Wrote Down Their Wishes

Second, you need to find out if your loved one had a will. If they did have a will, make sure that you take a look at it before the funeral. Many people, in their will, include their wishes for their funeral. These wishes may be as simple as requesting to be buried at a specific site or asking for certain music to be played at their funeral. Some people, though, plan out their entire funeral, right down to the flowers and what they want their obituary to say. Make sure that you look at your loved one's will before planning the funeral; you don't want to find out after they are buried that they have a bunch of specific last wishes.

Find an Independent & Licensed Funeral Home

Third, if your loved one did not have a funeral home picked out to work with, find a local independent funeral home in your area, such as Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home Inc. Look into the funeral home's record with your local business bureau to make sure that the funeral home has a good track record.

Find out who the funeral director is and if they are licensed. Ask to see a copy of the funeral director's license. A licensed funeral director has gone through all of the training in order to properly run a funeral home and work with grieving families.

When planning a funeral for a loved one, try to adhere to your loved one's wishes as much as possible.