Died with no insurance

kim1064

My sister (estranged for many years) has died in hospital following a short illness.

She had been on benefits for many years, had no savings etc. nor did she have any insurance to cover her funeral.

What happens about the funeral now? None of the surviving siblings ( brother and sister) have any savings or claim the correct benefits to qualify for the funeral payment from the social fund.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

RAS

Some help here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4208615

The important things are

1. Do not register the death; let the hospital sort that out.
2. Do not speak to the funeral director about anything.

Let the hospital know that you cannot pay or afford a loan to cover the cost. They will have to sort it out and reclaim the cost from anythign they can find to sell.

John_Pierpoint

You can probably go along to the "pauper" funeral, I had a former colleague who fell on hard times after being "prematurely retired" from work. His next of kin lived in another continent.

A first thing on a wet week day morning followed by a swift drink in the pub might not be everyone's idea of a wake.

beckysbobbles1

Did your sister have a spouse and aged under 45? If so then you may be able to obtain a benefit from DWP.

You can possibly do a funeral very cheaply if you speak with the right funeral firms.

I'm unsure if the state has to pay for a funeral.

dzug1

beckysbobbles1 wrote: »

I'm unsure if the state has to pay for a funeral.

It does if the deceased had no assets and no one else is willing to take it on.

But if that someone else arranges the funeral then they have taken the responsibility and are legally obliged to pay for it.