Legacy of Lives is an online service dedicated to making funeral planning simple, affordable and highly- personal. We prevent overpaying by allowing people to compare over 5000 funeral directors within a few clicks, and we make it easier to plan a funeral that truly reflects the individual.
Here is a little more about our founder.
No, its free for consumers looking to arrange a funeral or record their wishes. This is a core part of our principles that Legacy of Lives will always be free to our consumer users.
Historically it’s been hard to compare different funeral directors (and currently 83% of people use the first funeral director they find) and Legacy of Lives has been designed to make this process as simple as possible.
Once you have completed your Legacy of Lives plan , we present your closest and most suitable, funeral directors. The results are listed in order of geography from your postcode ,and you select which businesses you would like to share their plan with/receive a quote from.
Your details are kept anonymous until you have confirmed a particular provider you would like to progress with, to avoid any unnecessary contact to you during a difficult time, but you can message any of the providers through the site if you would like any further information.
The funeral director you choose will be dependent on a number of factors – a suitable location, funeral costs and your budget, your loved one’s wishes, and services offered. Using the Legacy of Lives comparison tool gives you the support you need to find the perfect funeral partner.
Here’s one of our blogs with more background to choosing a Funeral Director
Not at all, this is up to you. We have both ‘quick quote’ and ‘full plan’ options available. The quick plan route includes the minimum fields a funeral director would need to give you a price, the full plan can help if you are unsure of what you are looking for as it will guide you through the different options along the way.
Once you have decided which provider you would like to progress with you need to press ‘accept quote’ in your dashboard and the funeral partner will be emailed to let them know. Once you have selected your preferred provider and quote, your contact details will be shared with the funeral director and they will contact you to progress arrangements.
A video explaining how to submit a plan and accept a quote can be viewed here
Depending on how specific your wishes are, it may take a funeral director time to secure any particularly unique requests you may have. Some funeral directors respond within a few hours, if it is during the working week, some may take a few days.
If you’d like support, please do contact us at Legacy of Lives and we can follow-up with funeral directors to help the process.
You are able to see the pre-paid plan providers that cover your area and reach out to them, but we are unable to give any advice on which provider to choose. If you need further information on pre-paid funeral plans you would need to seek advice form an authorised provider.
Discussing funeral plans with loved ones can be tricky – especially when you’re not sure which questions to ask, or what to consider. With the Legacy of Lives planner, these questions are laid out for you: which type of funeral you would like, where you would like the funeral to take place, transportation, readings, music, memorial brochures, and other send-off preferences. On this planner, you can also store important documents, memories, contacts, and funeral wishes all in one place. Start a plan for you or a loved one today.
The best way to plan your own funeral is to document your funeral wishes in a safe place, and to share these with your loved ones. You can store your wishes with Legacy of Lives today.
We have developed a handy guide of suggested documents which your loved ones may find useful.
We make user data security our top priority. We ensure our systems are up to date with all the latest security updates and tools and use the latest and most advanced encryption methods available. In addition to this industry-leading security framework, we constantly monitor our platform, staying ahead of any potential issues.
We know that talking about death with our loved ones can be difficult – but planning ahead is important. With Legacy of Lives’ easy-to-use funeral planning tool, you can be prepared, plan a funeral and receive quotes from funeral directors in less than 48 hours, saving you time on research. Our planning tool allows you to safely store funeral wishes and important documents in one place – and is completely free. If you are in the early stages of planning, you might also find it helpful to take a look at the advice in our Help Guides to guide you through the process.
The average funeral cost for a basic funeral is £4,417 in the UK, according to a SunLife report. This includes fees for the cremation or burial, the funeral director, the doctor and the minister or celebrant. On top of this, there are also other funeral costs, like the send-off. However, although £4,417 is the national average, it is also worth noting that this cost can differ hugely depending on the type of funeral chosen, and where in the UK the funeral takes place. For example, London funerals tend to be the most expensive – and cremations are a lower-cost option than burials (on average, £1,117 less expensive – this is due to the cost of burial plots). You can learn more about detailed fees on our funeral costs page.
Yes, you can get help with funeral costs -– and there are several charities that help with funeral costs. The UK government offers a scheme called a Funeral Expenses Payment, which can help towards these costs, and charities such as Leukaemia Care or the Child Funeral Charity can also help pay for a funeral. You can learn more about these options on our help with funeral costs page.
On average, a funeral takes around one to two weeks to arrange but can be longer. How long it takes to arrange a funeral will depend on a variety of factors – for example,
cremation tends to take place sooner than a burial, and a funeral will take place sooner if there are religious considerations (in Islam, the deceased needs to be buried in 24 hours). Seasonality is also something to keep in mind: most funerals tend to take place in winter, so finding an available date can take longer. We know that the time spent arranging a funeral is stressful – so at Legacy of Lives, we believe it’s important to speed this process up wherever possible, easing the stress of planning during the grieving process. Our planner gives you the tools to do this – start your plan today.
There are several practical steps you should take if a loved one has passed away. Firstly, you must register the death within five days. Before you go to the register office, you will need to find your loved one’s NHS medical card or birth certificate or marriage certificate (if applicable), driving license, and proof of address - you must have at least two of these. This is so you can receive a certificate for burial or cremation (known as the Green Form) and a certificate of registration of death. Sadly, you will not be able to release the body from the mortuary until this formality is completed. You will also need to inform the government of your loved one’s death - you can see more on their website. This can be an incredibly confusing and upsetting process – at Legacy of Lives, we will be petitioning the government to digitise this process, making it more efficient and transparent.
A funeral plan is a way of recording the kind of funeral you would like when you pass away - for example, a cremation or a burial, which kind of flowers, music, catering, and so on. This is so that your loved ones can organise a funeral faithful to your wishes. A funeral plan is often accompanied by a payment plan - either pre-paid in advance, or a monthly payment plan - with a funeral director so that the funeral can go ahead. You can start your plan with Legacy of Lives today.
There are a few options for making funeral plans for over 50s: these typically include over 50s funeral plans and over 50s life insurance. Life insurance is taken out as monthly payments, which can then be used to cover the cost of a funeral, or as money left for loved ones - while a funeral plan is more clearly dedicated to covering the costs of the funeral. This will also involve a pre-paid or monthly payment plan for its cost, and is usually paid to a funeral director. You can start your over 50s funeral plan with Legacy of Lives today.
There are several options for making funeral plans under 50. Many providers will specify a minimum age requirement of 50, but saving for a funeral is also an option for under 50s with certain funeral directors - with monthly installment plans of up to 25 years. If you are organising a funeral for a child, you are likely eligible for government financial support - see more on our page for help with funeral costs.
According to a Gov UK survey and Co-Op Group.
On our homepage, you'll find an option to set up a plan either for now or in advance. Once you select that, you can choose between our quick planner or full plan form. These options will guide you through the process and from there you will find an option to choose who the funeral plan is for. To help you further, we have prepared a video tutorial that demonstrates how to set up a plan on our website. You can watch it here to get a step-by-step understanding of the process.
