National Funeral Planning Awareness Week
National Funeral Planning Awareness Week runs from 23rd February to 2nd March 2026, and encourages you to consider and make known your funeral wishes.
One of the most effective ways to record your funeral wishes is within your Will, making National Funeral Planning Awareness week the perfect opportunity to create or update your Will.
Whilst any clause within a Will relating to your funeral is not legally binding, and is treated as an expression of your wishes rather than a direction that must be followed, it provides your Executors with invaluable guidance at a difficult and emotional time following your death.
At a minimum, Bennett Griffin recommends your Will to state whether you would prefer a burial or cremation. However, your Will can also confirm the finer details such as:
- Whether you have a pre-paid funeral plan
- Any music or readings of your choice
- Your preference with regards to dress code
- The name of your chosen officiant or celebrant
Why it Is Important to Make Your Wishes Known
Noting your funeral wishes in your Will is a thoughtful and practical step. It ensures your personal wishes are respected and spares those closest to you from making difficult decisions during an already distressing time.
It can also prevent disagreement among those you leave behind, who often clash if they have differing opinions on funeral arrangements.
Further, in the absence of any direction, those closest to you may spend considerable time worrying whether they are making the ‘right’ decisions on your behalf. But, with your input, your funeral can be conducted under your own terms, allowing for the day to reflect your character and feel personal to you.
Knowing your funeral wishes are recorded in your Will offers both yourself and those closest to you the reassurance that the important decisions have already been made, allowing the focus to be on grief following your death.
The importance of having a Valid Will
Dying without a Will requires additional work and can cause unwanted delay when applying for the Grant of Probate, and having clear provisions set out in a Will can significantly reduce the risk of ambiguity and costly disputes between family members, ensuring for as smooth process as possible when administering an Estate.
Having a professionally drafted Will that is valid provides you with both the control over how your Estate is distributed upon your death and who is appointed to distribute it. Dying without a valid Will means your Estate falls subject to the rules of intestacy, being statutory rules that dictate who inherits your Estate and in what proportions.
The rules of intestacy may not reflect your personal wishes. Often clients are shocked to discover that, for a married couple, or those in a Civil Partnership, and who have children, not all the Estate passes to their spouse or civil partner on the first death.
Under the current rules, the husband, wife or civil partner keeps all the assets (including property), up to a value of £322,000, and all personal possessions.
The remainder of the Estate is then shared as follows:
- One half passes to the husband, wife or civil partner
- The other half is divided equally between the surviving children.
Further, we often meet clients who have prepared homemade Wills, or have Wills that have been informally drafted, but these carry significant risk. If a Will is incorrectly drafted or improperly executed, it may be invalid, resulting in the Estate being distributed under the intestacy rules and potentially contrary to your intentions.
If you require assistance in creating or updating your Will, please do not hesitate to contact us.