Funeral costs
Normally the funeral is paid for from the estate of the person who has died. It’s worth checking through their paperwork for funeral cover in any life insurance or pension schemes, or for a prepaid funeral plan. If you send the financial institution an invoice from the funeral director they will reimburse you. If there’s no money to pay for the funeral, it will fall to the family to cover the costs. If you’re claiming benefits, you may be able to get help with this – you can ask your local Citizens Advice Bureau for more information www.adviceguide.org.uk.
What we can do to help
If there are no insurance policies or prepayment plans to cover the costs of the funeral, we can pay the funeral bill from available funds in the account of the person who has died without needing any extra paperwork – you don’t need to have received a grant of probate or confirmation (Scotland) first.
Obituaries and notices
You may want to put an announcement about the death in the national or local newspapers and give details about the funeral (in Scotland the funeral director will arrange this). The person who has died may have requested that, instead of flowers at the funeral, that money be donated to their favourite charity. If so, it may be useful to mention this in the obituary.
Burial and cremation
When you register the death, the registrar will give you a certificate for either burial or cremation. If you choose a burial you’ll need to give this certificate to the officials at the cemetery and/or churchyard.
