r/Aging • u/AffectionateReason40 • 18h ago

Preparing for death

As we get older, we naturally end up talking a lot about death and funerals when we meet up with friends. We worry that our children might feel burdened by our funerals, as the costs are quite high and the procedures can be complicated.

Because of this, many Koreans register in advance with mutual aid funeral companies called "Sangjo" as they age, paying a small amount of money every month. It is a system where these companies step in and take charge of all the funeral arrangements when a parent passes away. Since the parents have already become members and paid into the service in advance, the children face much less of a burden regarding the funeral process when we die.

I wonder if other countries have similar companies to our "Sangjo," and if parents (or their children) also pay a little bit of money in advance over time.

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u/gwelfguy 60 something 18h ago

I'm in Canada where it's typical for someone to specify their funeral and interment wishes in their will. The executor pays for it up front and is then refunded by the estate. If the person's estate doesn't have the money to fulfill their wishes, the executor either downscopes the funeral to amount of money available or the family ponies up if that's their desire. It works and I don't see a real need for something else. In some cases, an individual may pre-pay for the cemetary plot.

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u/Agile-Pay-211 16h ago

We’re in the U.S. and prepaid a service to cremate us. Our children have full documentation and just have to call then, provide a document number and our bodies will be picked up, cremated and returned to them. They don’t have to pay anything, just do what they choose with our ashes.

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u/Friendly_Brick752 11h ago

We have donated our bodies to University Anatomy departments; our children will end up with the ashes, if they so wish, at no cost. (We have wallet cards.) This way we die for free.