Never talked about and seldom acknowledged is the fact that women have by default one of the worst jobs on the planet, namely final arrangement director. Of all the funerals, cremations and burials that take place in this country every year, nearly two thirds of these estimated 2.3 million deaths will be planned, arranged and ultimately paid for by women, by default because she is the surviving member of the marriage.

It is a basic fact of life that women currently outlive men. So when a funeral is about to take place it is usually a woman who must walk through this agonizing series of events, try to navigate the myriad of decisions, well over 120 in the first 24 hours, and keep her wits about her. All the while she is feeling the same anxiety, grief, anger, fear, emotional stress that all her other loved ones are experiencing.

What is surprising is that, despite the fact women will be making these decisions and history proves it, few women know much about this critical and often exceedingly expensive event. It is not unusual for a recent widow to have to write a check or authorize the spending of $6,000 to $10,000 in a matter of an hour or two. Without some knowledge of what the final arrangements process is this widow is at the mercy of whomever it is she called to help her make these arrangements.

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