Navigate Funeral Planning With Confidence
You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Planning a funeral involves decisions most people have never made. To help you feel prepared, Wilbert offers a guided planning experience powered by Afterword that helps you explore your options, document what matters most, and prepare for the conversations ahead.
Whether you’re planning ahead or responding to a recent loss, the goal is simple: help you plan with confidence.
I Need to Plan a Funeral Now
When decisions need to be made quickly, a guided planning experience can help bring clarity and organization during a difficult time.
Explore your options, document important information, and prepare for conversations with a funeral professional.
I’m Planning Ahead
Planning ahead allows important decisions and personal preferences to be documented before they become urgent.
Follow this guided planning experience to explore your options, capture your wishes, and create a plan that can be shared with family and a funeral professional when you’re ready.
The Funeral Planning Process
Learn • Plan • Connect
Every funeral planning journey is unique, but most follow the same general path. This planning experience helps you explore your options, capture what matters most, and prepare for conversations with a funeral professional.
1. Learn
Explore burial, cremation, memorialization, and planning considerations at your own pace. Educational resources and guided tools help make unfamiliar decisions more manageable.
2. Plan
Document your preferences, compare options, and build a personalized planning portfolio that reflects what matters most.
3. Connect
When you’re ready, connect with a trusted funeral professional who can review your selections, answer questions, and help finalize arrangements.
Exploring Burial, Cremation, & Alternative Options
One of the First Decisions You’ll Make
One of the first decisions in the funeral planning process is choosing burial, cremation, or another form of final disposition.
Each option offers different opportunities for memorialization, remembrance, and permanent placement. Understanding these paths can help you identify what aligns with your preferences and prepare for conversations with a funeral professional.
Burial
Burial creates a permanent resting place in a cemetery or mausoleum. Arrangements may include a casket, burial vault, and monument or memorial marker depending on cemetery requirements and personal preferences.
Cremation
Cremation provides flexibility in memorialization. Urns, urn vaults, keepsakes, jewelry, monuments, and other memorial options can help create a lasting place of remembrance.
Alternative Options
Some families are beginning to explore alternatives beyond traditional burial and cremation, such as NOR (natural organic reduction). If you're interested in learning about emerging options, the planning experience can help you explore what's available and identify questions to discuss with a funeral professional.
Discover Meaningful Memorial Options
Once you’ve chosen how and where a person will be laid to rest, you can start considering the memorial products, personalization opportunities, and permanent remembrance options that may become part of those arrangements.
From protective burial and cremation products to personalized memorialization options, Wilbert combines generations of craftsmanship, protection, and personalization to help reflect every life, story, and legacy.
As you discover these options, you’ll begin identifying the products, memorials, and personal touches that best reflect what matters most to you and your loved ones. When you’re ready, a funeral professional can help review those selections, answer questions, and coordinate the products and services needed to bring your plans to life.
Burial Vaults
Protective burial solutions that help create a lasting place of remembrance.
Caskets
Thoughtfully crafted caskets that help honor a life and reflect personal preferences.
Urns
Memorial urns designed to honor a life and support a variety of remembrance preferences.
Monuments
Permanent memorials that provide a dedicated place to remember, reflect, and honor.
Urn Vaults
Protective urn burial solutions that help create a lasting place of remembrance.
Memorial Jewelry
Wearable keepsakes that help keep meaningful memories close.
Mementos
Personal keepsakes that help preserve memories and celebrate meaningful moments.
Personalization
Meaningful ways to reflect a unique life through imagery, inscriptions, symbols, artwork, and personal details.
Connect With a Trusted Funeral Professional
Find a Funeral Home Near You
Once you’ve explored your options and documented your preferences, a licensed funeral professional can help bring your plans to life.
Common Funeral Planning Questions
Whether you’re beginning to explore your options or ready to take the next step, these answers can help you better understand the decisions ahead. If you’d like more personalized guidance, start the planning process or connect with a trusted funeral professional near you.
What is an urn vault or burial vault and do I need one?
A vault is an outer protective container that holds a casket or urn once it’s placed in the ground. Most cemeteries require vaults to protect the ground from settling over time. Wilbert vaults come in a range of styles and materials, and many can be personalized with colors, designs, or inscriptions.
How quickly do I need to make decisions after a loved one passes away?
Most arrangements need to be made within 24 to 72 hours for burial or cremation to proceed. A funeral director will guide you through each required decision in sequence, so you don’t have to figure out the order on your own. If you’ve done any pre-planning, those choices can be retrieved and confirmed with the funeral home, simplifying the process significantly.
What is Afterword?
Afterword is a funeral planning software platform that guides families through arrangements with educational videos and a virtual selection room. To help families feel prepared rather than overwhelmed, Wilbert offers an interactive funeral service planning guide powered by Afterword.
Walk through the basics of burial and cremation, explore what products are typically involved, and begin forming preferences on your own terms. When you’re ready to sit down with a funeral director, you’ll walk in knowing what to expect — and what to ask.
What is funeral pre-planning and how does it work?
Funeral pre-planning means making burial and memorialization decisions in advance, often with the help of a funeral director. It lets you choose your products, lock in your preferences, and document your wishes so your family knows exactly what you wanted. Many families find it gives them, and their loved ones, significant peace of mind.
How much does a funeral cost?
Funeral costs vary depending on the type of service, products selected, and local funeral home pricing. A funeral director will provide an itemized price list. Costs typically include the funeral home’s services, the casket or urn, any vault required by the cemetery, and optional items like flowers, obituaries, or monument placement.
Take the Next Step at Your Own Pace
You don’t need to have all the answers today.
Whether you’re planning ahead or making decisions now, this guided planning experience can help bring clarity, organization, and confidence to the decisions ahead.