What Happens when a Family Can't Afford a Funeral?
Funerals are an expense that many families can’t afford. While many families are able to find the money through the generosity of their community or through other means, there are moments where they may be completely unable to pay for a funeral. If you think you’re in this position, it’s important to make sure you’ve exhausted all options before making the decision to turn the body over to the state.
What happens if you can’t pay the funeral bill?
"What happens if you can't afford a funeral?" The harsh reality is, there are some circumstances where a family or individual will be completely unable to pay for a funeral, even after exhausting other options. If you’re unable to pay for a funeral, you’ll need to sign the body over to the coroner who will handle the disposition of the body. If a family can’t pay for a funeral or afford the disposition costs, their family member will likely be buried in an indigent cemetery -- a cemetery for those who can’t afford to be buried elsewhere. The family would not be able to choose the cemetery or the method of disposition if they're unable to afford the funeral and need to surrender responsibility. In short, what happens when you can't afford a funeral? The services and choices are out of your control.
What happens when someone dies and has no family?
Have you ever wondered, "What if you can't afford a funeral AND have no family?" You're certainly not the first to think this. When someone who has no family dies and no one is able to cover funeral expenses or claim the body, the body is turned over to a funeral home. The funeral home will cremate or bury the body in a cemetery and will charge the costs of the disposition to the estate of the deceased. Each state has its own rules regarding the estates of those who have no kin and no funds, referred to as “intestate estates”. Due to this, it's advised that you check in with your state's laws and regulations regarding this.
How much does a funeral cost?
The average funeral costs about $9,000 in the United States. Many families and individuals are grieving, leaving them vulnerable to sales tactics or to choosing what’s right in front of them instead of shopping around. When planning a funeral, here’s some of the costs you should keep in mind:
The cost of a funeral will depend on your chosen method of disposition and your location. Burials are significantly more expensive than cremations (due to embalming, the casket price and the need for a burial plot, a burial vault), but almost all families should expect to spend at least a couple thousand dollars when planning a funeral.
Funeral cost breakdown
It can help to understand funeral costs and what to expect when dealing with a funeral home if you have an idea of what each part of a funeral usually costs. Here’s some ballpark figures on what to expect when planning a funeral:
Cremation Costs:
- Nondeclinable basic services fee - $2,100
- Removal/transfer of remains to funeral home - $325
- Embalming - $725
- Use of facilities/staff for ceremony - $500
- Service car/van - $150
- Basic memorial printed package - $160
- Cremation Fee - $485 - $1,500
- Cremation casket - $60 - $1,500
- Urn - $50 - $550
Average Total - $4,555 - $7,510
Burial Costs
- Nondeclinable basic services fee - $2,100
- Removal/transfer of remains to funeral home - $325
- Embalming - $725
- Other preparation of the body - $250
- Use of facilities/staff for viewing - $425
- Use of facilities/staff for funeral ceremony - $500
- Hearse - $325
- Service car/van - $150
- Basic memorial printed package - $160
- Metal casket - $2,400
- Median Cost of a Funeral With Viewing and Burial - $7,360
- Vault - $1,395
Average total with vault - $8,755
Shop around for affordable funeral homes
Given the high price tag associated with a traditional funeral, it can be essential to shop around local funeral homes to find one that fits your budget and provides affordable funeral services. When looking at funeral homes, inquire into affordable funeral alternatives such as direct cremation and direct burial. You can also inquire into any affordable funeral packages the funeral home might offer.
Keep in mind, you do not have to purchase everything in a funeral home's packages, even if they're touting their packages as affordable funeral care. You are always allowed to purchase only the required services or services you need from the funeral home. This could mean opting to purchase your own affordable funeral flowers in lieu of the ones provided by the funeral home, foregoing their venue and finding a community center of your own, or foregoing embalming and burial altogether and opting for cremation. These steps can help you save a lot of money on a funeral and avoid costs associated with these services. Affordable funerals are often ones where the family diligently selects which services are applicable to their loved one and opts out of all other unnecessary services.
How to find affordable funeral homes
Skip the broad Google search for "affordable funeral homes near me" and head to the funeral home database on Ever Loved. Simply check out the funeral homes listed on Ever Loved and sort by price. The funeral homes listed on Ever Loved all come with an estimated price list or even pricing that's provided by the funeral home itself so that you can find out pricing information without ever having to step foot into the building. One of the best ways to find an affordable funeral and cremation is to do preliminary research into pricing beforehand so that you can narrow down your choices for funeral homes you'd like to visit and work with before feeling pressured to make a decision.
Charities & organizations that help with funeral costs
When it comes to organizations that help with funeral costs, the unfortunate news is that there aren’t many options. Most of the financial assistance you’ll be able to find is through government programs, not through non-profit organizations. If you’re looking for organizations that will help you cover funeral costs, your best bet is to start local or to apply to government programs.
Religious organizations & local churches
This is especially useful if you’re part of a larger congregation or are an active member of the church, but some churches will try to help a member of their congregation in emergency cases. If you’re struggling to pay for a funeral, you may want to start getting in touch with local churches (or churches your friends or family members attend) to see if they’d be willing to help you cover funeral costs. While this is rarer for churches that do not have large budgets to assign towards helping parishioners, it can still be worth asking. Your results may vary and you may find yourself in a situation where they aren’t able to provide you with financial assistance, but are able to provide you with a venue to hold services, free of charge. Churches can also help spread the word if you’re trying to fundraise money for a funeral, so it’s probably worth asking if they’d be willing to make an announcement or share your story with the congregation. If you’ve set up a memorial website, ask the church leadership to share the URL to your fundraiser for extra engagement.
Final Farewell
Final Farewell is a charity that helps with funeral expenses for children. Their financial assistance is for families who have lost a child and is not extended to adults. If you’ve recently lost a child and are struggling to pay for burial expenses, you’ll want to apply on Final Farewell’s website for assistance.
Government programs
Many counties and cities offer financial assistance to residents who are struggling to cover funeral expenses, especially if they’re living below the poverty line. These benefits are often overlooked and can end up helping you cover critical expenses when it comes to the funeral. Keep in mind that every state varies and that some states offer assistance at all three levels (county, city and state) while others only offer assistance at some levels. You’ll need to do a bit of research to find out if your state offers financial assistance for funerals, but it’s generally pretty easy to apply for these benefits once you find them.
Funeral crowdfunding
Since there aren’t many organizations that help with funeral expenses, many families turn to their community when raising money for a funeral. You can start an online fundraiser in less than 10 minutes where you’re able to quickly reach your friends, family, community, and others with your memorial website. Visitors can contribute easily to your fundraiser and help you cover unexpected funeral expenses. Donations made to memorial fundraisers on Ever Loved are processed within 2 business days, which means the funds are usually readily available for you to use with funeral homes. When a fundraiser is shared with your community at large, it’s often easy to raise the funds that you need. If even 10 of your friends, family members, or other members in your community offered to donate $100, you'd already have $1,000 ready to go to cover these expenses.
Social Security Benefit
Social Security pays out a one time benefit of $255 to the surviving spouse, if the spouse and the deceased were living together. If the spouse was living apart, then additional information is needed to claim the benefit. While $255 isn't a ton of money, especially when compared to the massive costs of a funeral, it's still enough to cover some of the smaller expenses (such as flowers, programs, even a small deposit on a venue).
If you’re the surviving child of the deceased (and there wasn’t a spouse to pay out to), you may be eligible to receive the death benefit.
You’ll want to get in touch by phone at 1-800-772-1213; you can visit Social Security’s website for more information on the death benefit.
Veterans Benefit
If the deceased was a veteran who was hospitalized by the VA at the time of death, they’re likely eligible for up to $796 in funeral expenses. The VA can also cover transportation and cemetery costs in many cases. If the veteran was not hospitalized by the VA at the time of death, the VA will cover up to $300 of the funeral expenses. These benefits are for non-service related deaths.
If the veteran died in service after September 21, 2001, the VA will cover up to $2,000 in funeral expenses.
Here’s how to apply for VA benefits:
- Apply online.
- Find & work with a representative in person.
- Turn in your application at a local regional benefit office.
- Mail a completed application to your VA pension management center.
If you’re looking for ways to cover funeral expenses or find yourself unable to afford funeral services, you should consider starting up a memorial fundraiser. Memorial fundraisers can help you cover unexpected funeral costs through the generosity of your community. Funeral fundraisers are easy to set up and easy to share with your friends and family.
