There are many things to consider when thinking about end-of-life decisions. Here are a few reasons why people choose to pre-pay for their burial at Larkspur.
While it can be difficult to approach end-of-life planning, none of us want to feel like we’re leaving a burden to the people that survive us. Figuring out what you want to happen with your body after you die and getting the financial arrangements handled is one of those practical things that lifts a huge stress off your (and your loved ones) shoulders. If you know that a natural, green burial is right for you, the best thing to do to ensure that it happens is to meet with one of our natural burial guides to plan ahead and/or pre-purchase.
We’re all used to hearing people talk about “buying a plot.” The reality is that what someone is purchasing is the right to be buried in a cemetery called “burial rights,” that is often for a specific space. At Larkspur we offer the option to pre-pay for burial rights, they’re just not attached to a specific location. This means people can pre-pay for the right to be buried at our nature preserve upon their death, but unless there is a more immediate need (such as a terminal illness with a short prognosis) we do not allow people to choose where they will be buried at Larkspur until a need arises.
We do this because we are trying to work with the land as much as we can. It is a living, changing ecosystem. It takes time to learn who and what is growing in the neighborhood, and what might grow where. If someone were to pick a spot in the woods and in thirty or forty years from now when they need to use that spot a tree had grown there, it would be a challenging situation!
Not attaching our burial rights to a specific space allows us to do the kind of land management we need to do for our conservation efforts. Nature isn’t always neat and tidy, and we want to let mother nature do her thing! If you are considering pre-purchasing burial rights, here are a few great reasons why that might be for you:
1. It Gives Peace Of Mind
The most frequent reason we hear from people on why they want to pre-plan and buy their “cemetery plots” years ahead of time is the peace of mind they get from having their end-of-life plans in place. It makes sense! Folks often plan for and buy their cemetery plot or burial rights ahead of time because people don’t want their children or other family members and friends to be burdened with the things that have to happen when they die.
It also alleviates the burdens of having to make difficult and important decisions in the hardest moment of their lives, and instead allows them to focus and attend to their grief. All they have to do is pick up the phone and call.
2. It Assures You Get What You Want
There are many ways that pre-planning and pre-paying for your end-of-life plans bring peace of mind. Pre-arranging for what you want to happen to your body gives you greater autonomy in your choice. Pre-paying for the things you want while you’re alive and well confirms your plan, gives you the tools to communicate clearly with your loved ones about what you want, and create a funeral plan if that feels meaningful for you.
Making these plans can be an act of care for those you love.
3. It Can Save Money
For some people the reason to pre-pay is purely financial and for cost saving. As time goes on the cost of cemetery plots, funeral services, and necessary items like caskets and shrouds increase. Some of this cost increase is due to inflation, some of it is due to the availability of supplies, and some of it depends on if you choose to work with an organization that is locally owned or part of a larger corporation.
It’s hard to predict when prices will change, but when you pre-pay for burial rights you are able to lock in the price when you purchase it.This makes absolutely sure that even if you pass away decades down the line, you and your family will not have to worry about the cost discrepancy.
As a non-profit, it is important for us to be completely transparent about the cost of burial at our preserve, and it is equally as important for us to help those who want to have a natural burial have one. If you would like to see the current costs at our cemetery, you can view the prices here or contact us. We’d love to learn more about what is meaningful to you when planning ahead for the inevitable.