The human touch: valuing local, independent funeral directors

Ad feature by Golden Charter

But there is a reassuring truth at the heart of this selfless action: you don’t have to do it alone. And in fact, one of the greatest supports in this process is closer than you might think, right here in your community.

This National Funeral Planning Awareness Week, we also want to spotlight the importance of local, independent funeral directors.

They are more than just service providers. They are people with compassion at their core, who know the area, are often born and raised there, so understand its traditions and values. It’s them who bring a personal touch to what can otherwise be a daunting subject or task.

Your choice, matters

We often hear that the decision about a funeral director matters more than cost for many families. That’s because there’s nothing more precious than your deceased loved one, and how their final send-off is handled. 

People want clarity, warmth, and someone who listens. They want assurance that choices will be respected and needs understood. 

A funeral director rooted in your community is uniquely positioned to provide exactly that.

When the time comes and you lose a loved one, every conversation and decision will bear much more weight. 

Knowing that the person asking the questions is experienced and supportive can make all the difference between a bad experience and a great one.

A national, but local network

Golden Charter is one of the UK’s largest funeral providers, over 1 million people have chosen to plan ahead with them. They are unusual in that they work with a network of over 3,000 independent funeral directors; businesses firmly rooted in their local communities, many of them family run.

Why do they choose to operate this way? Because they understand and value the role of human-led, local undertaking as a pillar of our communities and towns. 

They provide a unique service, one that’s tailored to families and each individual. The importance of local knowledge can’t be undervalued. 

They’ll know the nuances of local crematorium facilities and cemeteries; they’ll know the local clergy, celebrants, and suppliers; they’ll even understand community customs – how people of a certain generation hear about deaths, and how to respectfully share the news. That depth of insight really matters when shaping something as personal as a funeral.

Here’s what Golden Charter told us:

What matters to you

In a recent survey, we asked people over 50 what they consider to be the most important elements of their future funeral.

Amongst the top noted, were:

• The level of care the deceased received, prior to burial or cremation.

• Advice on the more practical elements like registration of death.

• Arrangement of the funeral service at a local cemetery or crematorium.

With local funeral directors, you can be assured of the above, with added confidence that you and your family will be cared for and your funeral wishes will be delivered by someone you might already know; someone who lives and works within your community.

But alongside these important elements, core concerns raised in the survey included the financial security of money paid into any plan. 

Golden Charter customer funds are held securely until they’re needed in the Golden Charter Trust and further protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. With a Golden Charter plan, you’ll also receive the exemplary, trusted care of a local funeral director.

In this digital age where human service is often replaced by technology, the funeral-care industry is proving the importance of human connection and understanding. 

As your loved ones make the most important decision to honour your life – whether you’ve provided precise instructions or not – having an experienced and compassionate team on hand to support can make the tasks that face them, a good bit easier. 

You don’t need to plan everything. Nor do you need to make all decisions now. But by purchasing a plan with Golden Charter, you’re not only helping to cover the cost of your funeral, you’re also making sure that your loved ones have the right people around them, at a time when they’ll need it most.

As at July 2025;

Based on a number of funeral director branches in the UK accepting Golden Charter Plans as at January 2026.

Death is not the taboo topic that it used to be

End of life charity Marie Curie ran a survey last year to find out about UK attitudes to death and dying and the results showed 84% of respondents were comfortable talking about death with family and friends.

There is, however, a gap between the number of people who say they are OK talking about death and dying and those that have actually done so. While most people think it’s important to express their end-of-life wishes around care, just 14% of respondents have done this.

It might seem strange that people find it so difficult to talk about death given it’s something that every single one of us has in common. But hesitancy to speak openly remains, evidenced in the Marie Curie survey by people not planning ahead for their own end of life.

• Just 20% of survey respondents had made financial arrangements for their funeral

• Only 40% had talked to someone about whether they want to be buried or cremated

The problem may be that people simply don’t know how to initiate the conversation. Adopting one or more of the tips below may help to introduce the subject of death and dying into everyday conversations.

Choose the right moment

Dropping the ‘D’ word into the middle of a conversation about where to have a family birthday party probably won’t get the best reaction. Wait until you are already speaking more abstractly about death, maybe in relation to the death of a celebrity, and use that as your opening.

Choose the right place

A busy pub or restaurant is not the best place to try to explain your end-of-life wishes. Hospice UK recommends speaking face to face in a quiet, comfortable place where you are not likely to be interrupted.

Janet Ellis, whose husband John died from cancer, has said: “We walked with the dog every day, so a lot of our conversations happened side by side. I think that’s a great way to have a conversation with someone because you can be nicely distracted by nature and your surroundings too.”

Choose the right words

Use language about death and dying that your loved ones are comfortable using. Being open and honest is important and straight talking can help. But it might help the conversation if you can soften your language, using metaphors or euphemisms in place of the words death and dying.

Begin with ‘housekeeping’

Talking about having your will made or where you have stored important documents is a good way to introduce the subject of your death without talking directly about dying. Adopting a ‘housekeeping’ tone may make it easier to discuss more personal issues around your funeral plans or your end of life care preferences.

Be prepared

It’s important to know what you want to say when you start a conversation about your end-of-life plans. Think about what you want for your funeral - do you want to be buried or cremated? What sort of service, if any, do you want? Your loved ones may have questions and thinking about what those might be and how you will answer will help you get the most out of the conversation.

Pay attention

You may have been thinking about this conversation for a while, but your loved ones probably haven’t. Hospice UK suggests that when you talk to someone about death and dying, listen to their tone of voice and changes to the way they speak or to their body language. If they avoid eye contact, for example, they might not be ready to have this conversation.

To find out more visit the website here or email contact@goldencharter.co.uk