Funeral Assistance – Where to Turn for Financial Help

When a loved one dies, the grief can be overwhelming, as can the bill for funeral services. Many deaths are tragic and unforeseen, so when it comes time to pay for the funeral, how can you find out about financial assistance?

Funeral Insurance

Most standard life insurance policies include funeral assistance. Sometimes it is referred to as funeral insurance or burial insurance. This set amount of money from the deceased’s policy will help to cover the costs of the funeral that they wanted.

Social Security

If a loved one dies and you need financial funeral assistance, you should be aware that social security allots a certain amount towards the cost of a burial. It’s commonly referred to as the “death benefit” and runs about $250. This amount alone will not cover the entire cost of a funeral, but it will help with some of the costs, such as cremation.

Church Assistance

If you are still struggling to pay the costs of a funeral, talk to your local parish. Many times they will offer funeral assistance to families in need. This can be anything from holding a fundraiser to allowing the family to use the church for the memorial service free of charge. If your loved one was an active member of the church, ask for donations to be made on their behalf to defray the cost of the funeral, rather than sending flowers.

Pay as a Family

Paying for a funeral on your own can be a huge burden, so talk with the other members of your family to see if they can help you pay for the funeral. If each person pays a portion of the bill, funeral assistance from a third party may be unnecessary.

Funeral Consumers Alliance

This organization handles a lot of aspects of the funeral planning industry, and one of the services their site features is lists of charities and other organizations that offer funeral assistance in your area.

Loans

While you will still have to pay the funeral off over the course of time, a loan is one way to get financial funeral assistance to cover the costs of the services over time. You can make an appointment with your local bank to see if they will extend you a line of credit or give you a small loan to cover the costs of the funeral.

County Burial

If you absolutely have no way of paying for the funeral, you can allow the county to take possession of the body and perform the burial themselves. However, county burials are very basic and do not include any type of services, embalming or headstone.