Funeral costs

maureenbulman

Good Morning,
could you please help here: My wifes step father died recently and he had a pre paid funeral with age concern.When she has went to the undertakers she was told that most things had been paid for cars,hearse church service etc etc. She was then told the plot for burial had not been paid for and it would cost another £1,400. He was a 83 year old with no money in savings or any insurance policies. Does he qualify for a burial grant from the state.Also none of his other family members has any savings.

Thanking you in advance for your help.

TonyMMM

The funeral plan covers whatever is in the contract he took out. If that didn't include a burial plot then it will have to paid for separately ( or opt for cremation if that was included).

He doesn't qualify for anything in benefits after his death, but a family member arranging the funeral might, depending on their circumstances and the benefits they are receiving.

https://www.gov.uk/funeral-payments/eligibility

Keep_pedalling

Age Concern is now Age Uk, and none of their current funeral plans include the cost of a burial plot but all of them include cremation costs and it is almost certainly the case with this policy. His funeral plan covers more than the minimum requirement for a decent funeral, so I do not think you will be able to obtain a grant, so if no one else can pay for it cremation is the only real option.

Yorkshireman99

maureenbulman wrote: »

Good Morning,
could you please help here: My wifes step father died recently and he had a pre paid funeral with age concern.When she has went to the undertakers she was told that most things had been paid for cars,hearse church service etc etc. She was then told the plot for burial had not been paid for and it would cost another £1,400. He was a 83 year old with no money in savings or any insurance policies. Does he qualify for a burial grant from the state.Also none of his other family members has any savings.

Thanking you in advance for your help.

The local authority is responsible for the costs if the deceased did not have the funds. Have you asked them. In any case cremation is cheaper that may have to be considered.

Mojisola

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

The local authority is responsible for the costs if the deceased did not have the funds. Have you asked them.

In any case cremation is cheaper that may have to be considered.

As there is a funeral plan in place, the council won't get involved.

I agree that if no-one can find the money for a grave, you will probably have to have a cremation.

Yorkshireman99

Mojisola wrote: »

As there is a funeral plan in place, the council won't get involved.

I agree that if no-one can find the money for a grave, you will probably have to have a cremation.

If the plan does not cover the minimum costs the local authority, or the hospital have to fund the funeral. They have no option.

Mojisola

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

If the plan does not cover the minimum costs the local authority, or the hospital have to fund the funeral. They have no option.

The plan does cover all the funeral costs, just not the grave.

The council wouldn't pay for a grave either. They would only offer a cremation which the funeral plan would cover.

PasturesNew

Pauper funerals are just to cover the cost of disposal (usually cremation) and scattering of the ashes on their land.

A plot is a different beast entirely.

Is there another old family member where he could be accommodated? Graves can be reopened and more bodies put in if there's space. They have a capacity limit. If he's being cremated it's easier to get an existing grave opened to inter the ashes. I'll be doing that. There are procedures to go through, in that you'd need to contact living relatives of the interred (down to grandchild level) to check/confirm they're OK with it. To add ashes to an existing grave you're probably looking at about £150-200, plus the cost of your plaque.

Yorkshireman99

The OP's post does not mention cremation costs that would be around £700 more.

Mojisola

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

The OP's post does not mention cremation costs that would be around £700 more.

The cheapest AgeUK's plan provides a contribution to the funeral expenses - this could be converted to paying for a cremation.

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/products/financial-products-and-services/funeral-plan/

Keep_pedalling

Mojisola wrote: »

The cheapest AgeUK's plan provides a contribution to the funeral expenses - this could be converted to paying for a cremation.

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/products/financial-products-and-services/funeral-plan/

The contribution is for a burial, cremation costs are inclusive,