Tips for Writing an Epitaph

When it comes to writing the epitaph, the challenge posed can be an emotional one. However, it can also be an opportunity to give the world a small window into the importance of the life lost. The process can actually aide in the grieving process, however bittersweet the experience may be. Below are some tips on how to write an epitaph.

1.  Keep it Short and Sweet
2.  Think of What the Deceased Would Write for Themselves
3.  Describe What Makes up their Essence
4.  Decide on Who is Speaking
5.  Convey a Strong Feeling

Keep it Short and Sweet:

Many epitaphs are one to two lines in length. Some feel limited by the space restrictions, but for others it can be beneficial. The best way to look at it is quality over quantity. Keeping your epitaph concise keeps the significant and meaningful words to speak volumes instead of extra words “fluffing” the headstone.

Think of What the Deceased Would Write for Themselves:

Throughout this process, have you thought about what you would write for your personal epitaph? Try to put yourself in the shoes of the deceased. What would they write about themselves? What aspects of their life would they have wanted highlighted and displayed for the world for years to come?

Describe What Makes up their Essence:

Many use the relationships of the deceased such as, “Daughter, Mother, and Friend.” Perhaps their occupation is the best descriptor (or a combination), “Brother and Soldier.” It may be helpful to describe key aspects of their personality. For example, “A kindred spirit that loved you before she knew you.” Think of what makes them…them. Was it the way they interacted or served others? Was it a specific quote they lived by? Was it their dedication to a cause? What made them tick?

Decide on Who is Speaking:

An epitaph can be written from the viewpoint of the deceased or it can be written from an unknown third party. “Bob was strong until the bitter end” vs. “My loved ones will always be loved by me.”

Convey a Strong Feeling:

An epitaph can take on a melancholic tone or it can be celebratory! The message can be tragic or it can emphasize the love surrounding their life. Deciding on the feeling you want to elicit behind the epitaph will help guide you in your message.

An epitaph is a hard task that brings many memories to the surface. Some memories fill your soul with light, while others may bring a shadow to your heart. Writing an epitaph is process, and we hope these tips are helpful to this process.

What Happens to Your Social Media Profiles After You Die?

Death during the 21^st century is a tad more complicated than in the past with the introduction of the Internet, e-mail, and social media. In addition to funeral arrangements and financial arrangements, families of the deceased must now decide what to do with social media accounts!

So what happens to your social media profiles when you die? The answer to this question depends entirely on which social media platform you’re asking about.

Facebook: You have two options with Facebook. Immediate families, after showing proper documentation, can choose to close the entire account or turn their profile into a memorial page. Should you choose to go with the memorial page, Facebook will remove sensitive information from the profile (contact information and addresses), removes all status updates, and also changes the profile settings so that only friends can find the profile and post information to the memorial wall.

The profile will no long show up in the “People You May Know” section, nor will friends be reminded of the deceased’s birthday. Facebook will also deactivate the user’s login information to prevent anyone from guessing the user’s password and logging in.

If no notice is given, Facebook will leave the profile as-is forever.

Would you like to put in the request to deactivate a deceased person’s account or create a memorial page? Click HERE 

Twitter: After six months of inactivity, Twitter automatically starts deleting inactive accounts. Upon receiving proper documentation, Twitter will deactivate an account for a death notice. At no point in time will Twitter release the login information for a deceased person’s account, regardless of your relation.

Uniquely, Twitter will not recycle any username information. So, your username is yours to keep!

Would you like to put in the request to deactivate a deceased person’s account? Click HERE

Instagram: While Instagram won’t release any login information, they do give you options for the deceased’s account. Just like Facebook, you can choose to Memorialize the page or remove the account altogether.  They require certain documentation to support your claim, but an immediate family member can submit the form at any time.

Would you like to put in the request to remove a deceased person’s account or create a memorial page? Click HERE

LinkedIn: Your profile will remain live until notice is given. An immediate family member must submit the request along with documentation and additional information like the link to the obituary. After review, LinkedIn will close the account and remove the deceased’s profile.

Would you like to put in the request to close a deceased person’s account? Click HERE

Gmail: Did you know you can decide what you want done with your account before you die? Google calls it their “Inactive Account Manager.” You can decide who has access to your information ahead of time.

If this wasn’t set up, an immediate family member can submit a request to either close the account or request very specific information from the account. At no time will Google release login information.  Also, even after the account has been deactivated, Google does not re-release the username to be taken by someone else.

Would you like to set up your Inactive Account Manager or submit a request on behalf of a deceased person? Click HERE

Want to learn more? Read some of these great articles!

View: “What happens to all my social networking information when I die?” by Jonathan Strickland

View: “What Happens to Your Social Media Profiles When You Die?” by Sylvan Lane

Online Funeral Planning - Should Funeral Homes Have To Post Prices Online?

 

Prices for the same funeral services in the same city can be double or triple those of a nearby funeral home. With that being the case, it is obviously in someone's best interest to comparison shop funeral homes to find the best price. But is that really what a loved one going through a difficult time wants to be doing?

Today almost everything can be purchased online, our bills, clothes, pets, the list is endless really. E-commerce appears to be the way of the future. However when the Funeral Consumers surveyed funeral home prices and disclosures in ten areas of the country, tracking down prices for 15 funeral homes in each area, including at least one part of a funeral home chain; the Alliance found 16% of the 150 funeral homes failed to disclose prices on a website, in response to an email or in response to a phone call. Not only that but Steve Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America, found that in the same city there is a huge range in prices for essentially the same thing. Prices for the same funeral services within individual areas almost always varied by at least 100 percent and often varied by more than 200 percent. Direct cremation charges ranged from $455 to $3,390 in Seattle. Immediate burial charges ranged from $1,195 to $5,200 in Atlanta. And full-service funerals ranged in the District of Columbia ranged from $3,370 to $13,800.

“As an advocate who’s researched prices for consumer services for decades, I was stunned by the price differences. The huge price ranges for identical funeral services within individual areas indicate that these markets lack effective competition,” said CFA Executive Director Stephen Brobeck in a statement. “The lack of price competition is unfortunate given the relatively high cost of funeral services and the reluctance of many bereaved consumers to comparison shop for these services.”

Because of these wide gaps in price, thirty-one years after the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule intended to make funeral home pricing more transparent became law, consumer advocates are calling on the FTC to require funeral homes to post prices online.

The CFA found just 25 percent of funeral homes post prices on the Internet, largely because they don’t have to. "Federal law only requires funeral homes to provide prices by telephone or mail—antiquated relics, the CFA says, of 1980’s rulemaking." 

Price transparency aside, with a younger more tech savvy generation up next, wouldn't it make more sense to have some kind of online funeral planning available anyways? With the baby boomers coming up as the next senior population, the funeral industry is going to be hit with a lot more business, and it will undoubtedly shake things up for the old ways things have typically been done. What is the future for the funeral industry? I can't say but change seems to be imminent!