Adults in the North West are afraid of discussing death and scared of writing our final wishes, new research has found.
Almost half of us (48%) don’t talk with our partners or next of kin about our funeral and burial arrangements, showing that work needs to be done to start talking about the end.
With the average age for making your final wishes standing at 42, nearly two in five (37%) adults over the age of 55 still haven’t yet made plans for when we meet our maker.
Commenting on the research, David Collingwood, Director of Operations for the Co-operative Funeralcare said: “Talking about death is never easy.
“Although you might have a clear idea about important final wishes, such as whether you’d like to be buried or cremated, it’s common to never feel like there’s a good time to bring the subject up.
“There are many practical ways to communicate your final wishes and if you don’t feel comfortable having a direct conversation you can always leave details in writing for your loved ones, or articulate what you would want formally in a will or funeral plan.”
The research said many of us are being left with a lasting legacy of grief as a fear of discussing death has prevented almost a fifth (16%) of us from talking about the topic and just under a third (30%) haven’t broached the topic because we don’t know how.
“So long as your next of kin knows that these documents exist, this can be a good option for those who can’t seem to find the right time or the right words to tell those closest to them exactly what they’d want,” the director added.
The survey also revealed that as many as a fifth (22%) of us have had to arrange a funeral without any guidance from the person who has passed away.
More than twice as many (47%) said not being able to ask their loved one what they would have wanted caused the most distress.
Image courtesy of Michael Galkovsky, with thanks
