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Pre-Planning Your Funeral

Kerry, a Lychgate funeral director, sitting with a client to talk through their plans

Pre-planning gives you time to consider the kind of funeral you would like and record your wishes clearly for your family.

We will guide you through the choices at a comfortable pace, including music and readings, burial or cremation, the venue and any cultural or personal details that matter to you.

Recording these wishes can ease the pressure on your family later and give them confidence that the arrangements reflect what you wanted.

There is no rush and no obligation. When you feel ready, call (04) 385 0745 or send us a message, and we’ll find a time to sit down together.

What you can set down

As much or as little as you like. Some people write two lines. Others go through every detail and enjoy the process more than they expected to.

  • Burial or cremation. The one decision families find hardest to make on someone else’s behalf, and the easiest one for you to settle now.
  • The service. Where you would like it held, who you would like to lead it, and whether it should be religious, cultural, both or neither. It can be at one of our chapels, at a church, at a marae, or somewhere that has meant something to you.
  • Music and readings. The hymn, the song, the poem, the piece of writing you’ve always come back to. Families often find this the part they are most grateful to have been given.
  • The things that are particular to you. What you would like to be dressed in, whether you want flowers or a donation to something instead, who should be told, and anything you’d rather didn’t happen.
  • The details that go on the paperwork. Registering a death means supplying information a family often can’t find at short notice. Things like your parents’ full names, where you were born, and where you have lived. Setting them down now saves somebody a difficult afternoon.

None of it is binding. We can update your wishes whenever your circumstances or preferences change.

How pre-planning works

1. We arrange a conversation.

Call (04) 385 0745 or send us a message, and we will find a time that suits you at Willis Street, Johnsonville or Karori by appointment.

2. We talk through the possibilities.

One of our funeral directors will explain each option and answer your questions. You are welcome to bring a family member or friend, and there is no need to make any decisions during the meeting.

3. We write it down.

You get a copy, and we keep one on file, so it’s there when your family needs it.

4. We help you share it.

We will suggest a simple way to let a trusted family member know that your plan exists and where your copy is kept.

5. We update it when life changes.

You can return at any time and we will update your plan without charge.

Paying ahead

Setting money aside is optional. Plenty of families record their wishes and pay nothing in advance, and that is a perfectly good way to do it.

If you would rather pay ahead, you can put up to $10,000 towards your funeral. That money goes into the Now for Them funeral trust, where it is held and managed independently of us until it is needed. It is not asset tested or health tested.

Now for Them is offered through the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand. Lychgate are members, and we will help you with the paperwork rather than leaving you to work through it alone.

The point of doing it is simple enough. The cost is dealt with while you are in a position to think about it clearly, rather than landing on your family in the week after you die.

If it is something you want to look at, say so when we meet and we will take you through how it works, what it covers, and what happens if your plans change.

Talk to us about paying ahead
Lucas meeting with a client to talk through the arrangements
A portrait of E Morris Senior, who founded the business in 1876

We will still be here

Lychgate opened in Wellington in 1876. 2026 is our 150th year.

That matters more on this page than anywhere else on this website. A plan you make now might not be needed for another thirty years, so the fair question to ask is whether the firm holding it will still be around, and still be run by people who know Wellington. Ours has been for 150 years, through two world wars, a depression, and a city that has rebuilt itself several times over.

We’re still at 306 Willis Street, with dual access from Aro Street, and still in Johnsonville and Karori.

Our story

We will help you record your wishes

There is no deadline, and your wishes can be updated at any time. We will guide you through the process in your own time and make sure everything is recorded clearly for your family.

Call (04) 385 0745
Send us a message