Season 2 · Episode 4 — January 11, 2026
After Death Planning
with Garrick Colwell
What is the best way to show your love to the ones closest to you? The best gift you can give your loved ones is a plan for the end of your life. Planning is not about control — it’s about care.
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About This Episode
What is the best way to show your love to the ones closest to you? If you’ve been following this podcast for a while, you know I’m not talking about romantic gestures — roses and gifts, romantic dates or surprises. No, I’m talking about the end of life. And the best gift you can give your loved ones is a plan for what happens after you die.
When death is near, the people around you are already carrying so much — fear, anticipatory grief, exhaustion, and love all tangled together. What after-death planning does is remove uncertainty. It spares them from having to guess. It frees them from making impossible decisions in moments of shock or crisis. It allows them to simply grieve — present, connected, remembering — instead of overwhelmed by logistics and doubt.
Planning is not about control. It’s about care.
And here’s something I’ve learned through my work: what matters most to you about living is the clearest guide to what will matter most about how you’re remembered. The way you define dignity, legacy, family, or faith in life is the same language your death will speak.
After-death planning is really an act of love — listening to your own values, your hopes for those you leave behind — and then translating those into clarity for the people who will carry on.
In this episode, we talk about why planning ahead is not morbid, not pessimistic, and not giving up. It is one of the most profound expressions of love there is.
Your Personal Funeral Planner
We’ve created an easy-to-use Funeral Planner just for our listeners. You can download it for free and either save it to your computer as a fillable PDF or print it out and complete it by hand, at your own pace.
Home Funeral
A home funeral is a family-led approach to after-death care in which the deceased is kept at home (or another chosen place) for a period of time before burial or cremation. Loved ones may participate in washing, dressing, and vigil-keeping, creating space for presence, ritual, and personal goodbyes.
Why some families choose a home funeral
- It gives time. Time to slow down, to sit, to breathe, to say goodbye without being rushed.
- It creates intimacy. Death happens in a familiar space, surrounded by people who loved deeply.
- It allows for personal ritual. Washing, dressing, lighting candles, sharing stories — nothing is prescribed.
- It supports grief gently. Staying present with the body can help the reality of loss land more naturally.
- It brings a sense of agency. Families are not handing death away; they are caring for their own.
- It can be simpler and less costly. Fewer intermediaries, more intention.
Options for After-Death Care
After death, there is a wide range of ways the body can be cared for. These choices are deeply personal and often shaped by values, culture, faith, family traditions, and our relationship with nature. There is no “best” option — only what feels right for you.
Embalming
Embalming is a chemical process that temporarily preserves the body, most often used when there is a public viewing or a long delay before burial. It’s important to know that embalming is usually not required by law.
Burial
- Conventional burial involves a casket placed in the ground, often with a vault or liner, in a cemetery.
- Green or natural burial avoids embalming and uses biodegradable materials, allowing the body to return to the earth in a more natural way.
- Home or family burial, where legal, allows burial on private land, often with a more intimate and family-led approach.
Cremation
- Flame cremation is the most common option and uses high heat to reduce the body to ashes.
- Water cremation (also called alkaline hydrolysis) uses water and gentle chemistry instead of flame and is considered more environmentally friendly.
- Open-air funeral pyres are part of ancient traditions in some cultures and are legal in limited places.
Human Composting (Recomposition)
Recomposition allows the body to be transformed into soil through a natural, carefully managed process. For many, this option reflects a desire to return fully to the earth and contribute to new life.
Donating the Body to Science
Some people choose to donate their body for medical education or research. This can support future doctors and scientific understanding. Once studies are complete, the remains are often cremated and returned to the family, if they wish.
About the Guest
Garrick Colwell
Garrick Colwell is a certified Grief Recovery Specialist and Grief Educator with an extensive background in every aspect of grief and loss. He is the co-creator of Kitchen Table Conversations, a nonprofit providing education and resources that empower people to have conversations about Advance Care Planning, End of Life, and Grief. Garrick is a widower who served his late wife Kinsloe as her patient advocate, caregiver, and end-of-life companion. Recently he lost his dad Bob, so his views on end-of-life planning are not only educated but deeply personal.
kitchentableconversations.org→Resources & Links
Kitchen Table Conversations
Nonprofit providing education and resources for advance care planning and end-of-life conversations.
kitchentableconversations.org→National Home Funeral Alliance
Learn all about home funerals — a family-led approach to after-death care in which the deceased is kept at home for a period of time before burial or cremation.
homefuneralalliance.org→Stay Connected
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Honest reflections on grief, end-of-life care, and the writing life – usually once or twice a month. A conversation between friends about the hard, beautiful things we don't talk about enough.
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