Estate and Funeral Planning

Families who plan in advance describe the same relief afterward: at the hardest moment, there was less left to decide. No guessing at what they would have wanted. No siblings disagreeing in a hallway. No one making major choices while numb.

Planning ahead is not morbid. It is one of the more practical acts of care available to you.

Estate Planning and Funeral Planning Are Not the Same Thing

Estate planning covers what happens to your property and who makes decisions on your behalf: a will or trust, an advance directive, a healthcare surrogate. Funeral and cemetery planning covers the arrangements themselves, including where you are memorialized, what kind of service you want, and who carries it out.

Most families need both, and the two are usually handled by different people. An attorney prepares your estate documents. The Gardens handles the funeral and cemetery side, and records your wishes so they are not left to memory or to a will that may not be read in time.

What Planning Ahead Actually Does

It removes decisions from grief. A spouse, child or other family member would otherwise be making meaningful financial and personal choices in the days after a death, while grieving.

It can reduce future cost uncertainty. With a pre-paid plan, The Gardens allows you to lock in today’s cost for the selections covered by your contract. Before you sign, your counselor will show you what is included and identify any outside costs that may remain variable.

It records your wishes clearly. Preferences that live only in someone’s memory tend to be remembered differently by different people.

What to Decide

Entombment or cremation
Which form of above-ground memorial property: a mausoleum crypt, a niche, or a private family mausoleum
Type of service, and where it is held
Religious or cultural observances that matter to you
Casket, urn, and memorialization selections
Inscription wording, and who you want notified

What to Document and Where to Keep It

Keep these together, and tell at least two people where they are. Do not keep them in a safe deposit box, which may not be accessible until after arrangements need to be made.

Your prearrangement contract and cemetery property documents
Full legal name, date and place of birth, parents’ names, Social Security number
DD-214, if a veteran. See Veterans Burial Benefits.
Life insurance policies
Advance directive and healthcare surrogate designation
Will or trust documents, and your attorney’s contact information

Note that a will is often not read until after the funeral, which makes it a poor place to record burial wishes.

How It Works at The Gardens

A planning conversation can be as simple as recording your wishes or can include pre-payment. The Gardens offers both approaches: plan now and pay at the time of need, or choose a pre-paid plan.

Preneed sales in Florida are regulated under Chapter 497, Part IV of the Florida Statutes, which sets consumer protections around how prearranged funds are held and how contracts are fulfilled. Depending on how your plan is funded, your counselor will explain exactly how your payments are held and what the contract covers before you sign anything.

If you move or your circumstances change, selections can be updated and plans can be transferred, subject to the contract terms. Cancellation rights, refunds and payment terms are governed by the contract and Florida preneed law.

Couples and families can plan together, including companion crypts, niches and family memorial property, while still documenting each person’s individual wishes.

The Gardens welcomes families of all faiths and has Jewish-dedicated memorial space. Its team works with local rabbis and community leaders to accommodate Jewish funeral traditions and each family’s level of observance.