Why Plan Your Final Expenses This Week?
Getting your affairs in order does not have to take months. With one folder, one pen, and a few phone calls, you can finish the heart of it this week.
Final expenses are the bills your family faces after a death — the funeral or cremation, the resting place, and the paperwork that follows. If you want the full picture of what those costs include, see our guide to what final expenses really are.
The numbers are worth knowing. As of June 2026, the most recent national price study from the National Funeral Directors Association (2023 data) put the median funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300. A funeral with cremation ran $6,280. Cemetery costs and a grave marker are extra.
This checklist breaks the job into four stages: document, decide, fund, and communicate. Take them in order. Most people can finish in a few short sittings — and every step you complete is one less thing your family has to figure out on a hard day.
Stage 1: Document — What Papers Do You Need to Gather?
This first stage is simply gathering. No decisions yet. Just get everything into one place.
1. Collect your vital papers
Pull together your birth certificate, marriage or divorce records, Social Security card, your will if you have one, and the deed or title to your home and car. If something is missing, write that down too. Replacing a paper now is far easier than asking your family to chase it later.
2. Write a master list of accounts and contacts
On one or two pages, list where you bank, your monthly bills, any plans or benefits you hold, and the people your family would need to call — your lawyer, your accountant, your place of worship. Keep account numbers off the will itself; a separate page in the same folder works well.
3. Veterans: find your DD-214
Your discharge papers are the key that unlocks burial benefits. According to the VA, eligible veterans can be buried in a national cemetery at no cost to the family, including the gravesite, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and ongoing care. If you cannot find your DD-214, start the process of requesting a replacement now, while there is no urgency.
Stage 2: Decide — What Do You Want, in Writing?
Your family cannot honor wishes they have to guess at. This stage puts your preferences on paper.
4. Choose burial or cremation — and write it down
This is the single biggest decision, and it shapes the cost of everything else. There is no wrong answer. There is only the answer your family does not have to debate at the worst possible time.
5. Sketch the service you want
A few lines are enough. Religious or not. Music you love. Who you hope will speak. Whether you picture a big gathering or something quiet. Your family will treasure this page more than you know.
6. Ask two or three funeral homes for itemized price lists
Under the FTC Funeral Rule, funeral homes must give you a written, itemized price list when you ask, and you have the right to choose only the goods and services you want — not a package with extras you do not need. Comparing a few price lists is normal, expected, and can save your family real money.
Stage 3: Fund — How Will the Costs Be Paid?
Once you know what you want, you can put a number on it — and a plan behind the number.
7. Estimate your total
Use the national medians below as a starting point, then adjust with the local price lists you gathered in step 6.
| Type of service | National median cost (NFDA, 2023 data) |
|---|---|
| Funeral with viewing and burial | $8,300 |
| Funeral with cremation | $6,280 |
Remember: these medians do not include the cemetery plot, a monument or marker, flowers, or an obituary. Many families find the true total lands higher once those are added.
8. List the benefits your family can claim
Social Security pays a one-time lump-sum death payment of $255 to an eligible surviving spouse or child, and the survivor must apply within two years. Eligible veterans have the national cemetery benefits described above. Helpful — but rarely enough on their own.
9. Decide how the rest gets paid
Most families use one of three routes: money set aside in savings, a prepaid arrangement with a funeral home, or a burial benefit plan that pays your family directly. Typical benefit amounts run $5,000 to $25,000; for comparison, the national median funeral with viewing and burial was $8,300 in the 2023 NFDA study. If you would like to see your options, you can request free information here — the form is 100% free, takes about 2 minutes, and carries no obligation. Affordable Final Expense Solutions has been in business since 1981 and is trusted by over 100,000 families.
Stage 4: Communicate — Who Needs to Know?
A perfect plan that nobody knows about is no plan at all. This last stage takes an afternoon.
10. Tell at least two trusted people
Start with your spouse or partner and your adult children. Then add the person named in your will to handle your affairs, and one trusted person outside your household — a sibling, a close friend, or someone from your faith community. If starting that conversation feels awkward, our guide on how to talk to your family about final wishes walks you through it gently.
11. Hand over copies of the key pages
Give your wishes page and your master contact list to the person who would handle things first. They do not need every original — they need to know what exists and where to find it.
12. Set a yearly review date
Put it on the calendar now. The next section explains what to check when the date comes around.
Where Should You Keep Everything — and How Often Should You Update It?
Keep it home, keep it safe, keep it findable. A fireproof, waterproof document box at home is the simplest answer. Label one folder inside it — something plain like "When the Time Comes" — and keep everything from this checklist in that folder.
Be careful about relying on a bank safe deposit box alone. Your family may not be able to open it quickly after a death. If you use one, keep copies of your wishes and your master list at home too, and ask whoever helped prepare your will where the original should live.
Review once a year. Pick a date you will not forget — your birthday, New Year's Day, the first day of spring. A review usually takes fifteen minutes: confirm the papers are still there, the contacts are still right, and the wishes still sound like you.
Also review after any big life change: a move, a marriage or a loss in the family, a new grandchild you want mentioned, an account opened or closed, or a meaningful change in your health. Small updates made on time keep the whole plan trustworthy.
The Printable Final Expense Planning Checklist
- Document: Collect your vital papers — Birth certificate, marriage records, Social Security card, will, and deeds or titles — all in one folder.
- Document: Write your master account and contact list — Banks, monthly bills, plans and benefits, plus your lawyer, accountant, and place of worship.
- Document: Veterans — locate your DD-214 — Discharge papers unlock no-cost burial in a VA national cemetery. Request a replacement now if it is missing.
- Decide: Choose burial or cremation, in writing — One sentence on paper spares your family the hardest debate.
- Decide: Sketch the service you want — A few lines about music, readings, speakers, and tone.
- Decide: Gather two or three itemized price lists — The FTC Funeral Rule guarantees you a written, itemized list and the right to buy only what you want.
- Fund: Estimate your total final expenses — Start from the national medians and adjust with your local price lists.
- Fund: List the benefits your family can claim — The $255 Social Security payment for an eligible spouse or child, plus VA benefits for veterans.
- Fund: Choose how the rest will be paid — Savings, a prepaid arrangement, or a burial benefit plan that pays your family directly.
- Communicate: Tell at least two trusted people — Family first, then one trusted person outside your household.
- Communicate: Hand over copies of the key pages — Your wishes page and master list go to the person who would act first.
- Communicate: Set a yearly review date — Fifteen minutes a year keeps the plan current. Add a review after any big life change.
Final Expense Planning Checklist: Common Questions
How often should I update my final expense plan?
Once a year is plenty for most people. Pick a memorable date and spend fifteen minutes confirming your papers, contacts, and wishes are current. Also review after a move, a marriage or loss in the family, a new grandchild, a change in your accounts, or a meaningful change in your health.
Where should I keep my final expense documents?
A fireproof, waterproof box at home, in one clearly labeled folder. Give copies of your wishes and your master contact list to the person who would handle things first. If you use a bank safe deposit box, do not let it hold the only copy — your family may not be able to open it right away.
Does Social Security help with funeral costs?
Social Security pays a one-time lump-sum death payment of $255 to an eligible surviving spouse or, in some cases, a child. The survivor must apply within two years. Because the payment is small compared with typical funeral costs, most families plan for the remainder through savings or a burial benefit plan.
Can I still get a final expense plan if I have health problems?
Many people can. Guaranteed acceptance plans are designed for people who would rather skip health questions, and typical benefit amounts run $5,000 to $25,000. A licensed agent can explain which options fit your age and state — the information request is free, with no obligation.
Take Care of the Fund Step Today
You have the checklist. Step 9 — deciding how the costs will be paid — is the one you can start right now with a free, 2-minute request. The form is 100% free and carries no cost or obligation. A licensed agent will call you back, which can take up to 72 hours, so save 1-800-947-0068 in your phone now so you know it is us. Affordable Final Expense Solutions is Family-Owned, BBB A+ rated, and has delivered more than $1 billion in burial benefits to families since 1981.
Sources: National Funeral Directors Association — Funeral Service Statistics (2023 General Price List Study) · Social Security Administration — Lump-Sum Death Payment · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration — Burial and Memorial Benefits · Federal Trade Commission — The FTC Funeral Rule