Use this checklist to create a working record of your cremation preferences and the next steps still needed. Complete it in order, mark unknown answers as open, and keep the dated version where your chosen contacts can find it.
You can complete a plan without paying in advance. This worksheet is a planning aid, not a cremation authorization, legal appointment or service contract. Cremation Authority is a directory and consumer guide, not the provider that will carry out your arrangements.
1. Start a Dated Planning Record
Write your name as it appears on identification and add the date. Choose one place for the current record, such as a labeled folder with a secure digital copy. Keep unnecessary sensitive information out of copies shared widely.
- [ ] Name: ____________________
- [ ] Date prepared or updated: ____________________
- [ ] State where arrangements are expected: ____________________
- [ ] Current record location: ____________________
Use a separate page for unresolved questions. Give each question an owner and a follow-up date so an empty answer does not look like a completed decision. You can write "undecided" rather than choosing an option just to finish the sheet.
2. Record the Arrangement You Prefer
Describe the service, not simply the word "cremation." Note whether you want a funeral or viewing before cremation, a later memorial, or no organized ceremony. Raise any wish involving the body's presence with the provider before making a service selection.
- [ ] Cremation preference and any alternative: ____________________
- [ ] Ceremony or viewing preference: ____________________
- [ ] Religious or cultural requests to confirm: ____________________
- [ ] Details that may change if needed: ____________________
Separate an instruction that matters strongly to you from a suggestion your family may adapt. If you have not decided about a ceremony, the guide to funerals and memorials with cremation can help you identify the choice to discuss.
3. Identify Contacts and Check Authority
Ask the person you hope will help whether they are willing and reachable. List another contact if the first person is unavailable. Being a contact does not automatically give either person legal authority.
Contact record
| Item | Your entry |
|---|---|
| First contact and phone | ____________________ |
| Alternate contact and phone | ____________________ |
| Applicable authority document, if any | ____________________ |
| Person or office checking requirements | ____________________ |
| Question still awaiting an answer | ____________________ |
Ask an attorney licensed in the relevant state which documents apply to your wishes and who can legally authorize disposition. Family agreement, payment and an executor title do not by themselves settle that question.
New York's health department, for example, describes a written agent appointment with signing and witnessing requirements. Its form is not a national template. Read who can authorize cremation and what paperwork is needed before treating your contact list as an authorization.
4. Compare Providers and Keep Their Answers
Contact providers serving the expected location. Confirm the legal business name, applicable license status and who will perform the cremation. Ask what happens if you move or die outside the service area. Record the answer rather than assuming nationwide coverage.
- [ ] Preferred provider, phone and legal name: ____________________
- [ ] Alternative provider: ____________________
- [ ] Service area confirmed on: ____________________
- [ ] Written price information saved at: ____________________
- [ ] Unanswered service question: ____________________
Ask for the price of the arrangement you actually want and what is excluded. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, covered funeral providers must give price information by phone and a written itemized statement after you select arrangements, before payment. Request a price list to keep; do not assume every provider must email one.
5. Mark What Is Paid and What Is Only Planned
Put a clear status beside each item. A preferred provider, membership card or planning form does not establish that services are prepaid. If you have a contract, record where it is stored and ask the seller to identify what it covers.
Payment status record
| Item | Status and record location |
|---|---|
| Cremation services | Not purchased / partly paid / paid: __________ |
| Ceremony or venue | Not purchased / partly paid / paid: __________ |
| Ashes placement or memorial item | Not purchased / partly paid / paid: __________ |
| Other expected expenses | ____________________ |
| Contract or funding contact | ____________________ |
Do not put account passwords on this shared sheet. Record the verified institution or seller contact and how your authorized person should request information. Keep questions about access to money separate from authority to approve cremation.
If you are considering a purchase, use the preplanning and prepayment overview to prepare questions. You can leave this step marked "no prepayment" and continue the checklist.
6. Write Down Wishes for the Ashes
Ask the proposed recipient whether they are willing to accept the remains. Record any intended burial, scattering or other placement, and who will check permission with the relevant property owner, cemetery or authority.
- [ ] Proposed recipient and contact: ____________________
- [ ] Preferred destination: ____________________
- [ ] Permission or destination requirements to check: ____________________
- [ ] Alternative if the first choice is unavailable: ____________________
Treat a location written on this sheet as a preference until its requirements are confirmed. Do not book a gathering dependent on the ashes arriving by a particular date without discussing timing and a backup with the provider.
7. Assemble and Share the Usable Record
Attach copies of relevant signed documents, provider correspondence and any contracts. Keep financial and identity records secure. Give the people who need them clear access instructions rather than sending sensitive documents to this directory.
The FTC's planning guidance recommends accessible written preferences and warns against keeping the only instructions in a will or safe deposit box. For coordination with other documents, read estate planning with a funeral or cremation plan.
- [ ] Current copies shared with: ____________________
- [ ] Each contact confirmed they can find the record: ____________________
- [ ] Next review date: ____________________
- [ ] Remaining task, responsible person and date: ____________________
Review the record after a move, a change in relationships, or a new provider agreement. Replace outdated copies and tell recipients which version is current. Finish by checking the open questions, not by assuming every checked box settles the legal or practical requirements.