Q&A for How to Plan Your Own Funeral

Yes, but you don't have to do it alone. A good funeral director will help you decide on the options that fit your budget as well as your final wishes. If you feel like someone is pressuring you into buying the most expensive options, you might consider choosing another funeral home.

When you're planning your funeral, the most important things to consider are whether there are any religious traditions that are important to you and where you want to be buried. When you're making the arrangements, also consider who will be your healthcare power of attorney, and how you'll distribute your belongings after you're gone.

You can have them made into a diamond or shot into space.

Yes, as long as they are in a box, jar, or some other small container.

Most funeral homes have employees who do this. Contact your local mortuary and speak with them to get an idea of what they're job is like and what, if any, education or certifications might be needed.

As long as you have someone who is in charge of making those arrangements after both of you are gone, then this shouldn't be an issue.

Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to burial sheets, mound shroud, grave clothes, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the famous Shroud of Turin or Tachrichim, that Jews are dressed in for burial.

The funerary prayers (called janazah) always take place in a Mosque, with an Imam being in charge. After the Imam finishes the janazah, the men take the body to the mausoleum of the family. Similarly to Islamic traditions around the world, the body has to always face Mecca.