How to pay for funeral??

allbarone

Sorry if this is daft, but it's one of those things nobody talks about...

My father is 82 and without being morbid (he's in good health, touch wood) I know someday 'that' time will come and I have no idea how I would pay for his funeral. He has no assets, money or property, and I am his only relative so the funeral bill will fall to me.

I have no savings, and no means to pay such an expense - I can only imagine I'd have to take out a loan of some kind to cover it. I remember when my grandmother passed away 6 years ago, her funeral bill came to about £5k but bless her heart she had stashed most of that away in cash in a carrier bag!! Otherwise we would have been stuck.

Is there any kind of insurance that would cover something like this?

user1977

I don't think it's something you can insure against (and it sounds like you can't afford to anyway) - you're not actually responsible for the funeral bill, ultimately that falls to the local council if there isn't enough in the estate and nobody else is willing and able to pay for it.

anna42hmr

As the poster above mentioned, if your father has no assets and you cannot afford to pay for a funeral, the local council will be responsible for arranging a public health funeral, there are details of this on gov.uk.

alternatively for insurance, i believe it would be your father whom would need to take that out rather than you, for example i know Sun Life did such a plan, but iirc, the deceased must live for at least another year after the plan is taken out to pay out for the funeral.  

allbarone

I’ve had a look at our local state policy on funerals and it only says you can apply for “help” towards costs if you’re on benefits of some kind which I am not. I work full time and own my house but I still don’t have the means to pay £5k+ for a funeral. 

Would a funeral director accept a payment plan or is it always due it one payment?

Mojisola

allbarone said:

I’ve had a look at our local state policy on funerals and it only says you can apply for “help” towards costs if you’re on benefits of some kind which I am not.

What country are you living in?

Brie

When we arranged FiL's funeral and later MiL's the funeral director (Co-op) was very understanding about how pricey things were and was willing to point out cheaper options.  There can be a service done without any "guests" which are cheaper as done at whatever time suits the crematorium.  No flowers, speaker etc are required and that saves a lot.  Coffins are still pricy and even getting something which should be really cheap (cardboard) still costs a surprising amount.  All this is England.

Maybe you could go and talk to someone at a local firm just to get an idea of what is possible?

We were fortunate that both inlaws had set money aside but also had policies (not good value actually) to help with the funding as well.  Policies have changed recently which make them more likely to pay a reasonable sum unlike what was available when these were taken out nearly 40 years back (£4 a month each and FiL's total payout was £250 which was ludicrous)

Nelliegrace

An unattended cremation is one of the cheapest options, the Co-op charges about £1,300.
You get notified that it has been done. 
Really, what is the point of all the formal fuss, and all the extras, the hired black cars, the organist playing hymns no-one sings, the expensive flowers that are put out on the crem pavement and left? These were from the allotment, good enough. 

Silvertabby

Have a look at the other thread on this subject  "Help paying for funeral costs as a student".  The details and links are on there, and apply to everyone, not just students.

Savvy_Sue

There's a similar thread here: Help Paying for Funeral Costs as Student
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6433713/help-paying-for-funeral-costs-as-student

Pennylane

I wonder whether he took out life insurance?  My Mum never had much money and was in later years on Pension Credit but she had paid a tiny amount each week into Life Ins and that paid for her funeral. Worth checking! 

Misslayed

Nelliegrace said:

An unattended cremation is one of the cheapest options, the Co-op charges about £1,300.
You get notified that it has been done. 
Really, what is the point of all the formal fuss, and all the extras, the hired black cars, the organist playing hymns no-one sings, the expensive flowers that are put out on the crem pavement and left? These were from the allotment, good enough. 

Those flowers are beautiful, and no doubt gathered and arranged with love and happy memories. 

A young relative (age 11) just spent a whole day arranging 4 bouquets of roses from Aldi, along with greenery from her garden, into the letters NANA. He and his Dad worked together, problem solving, laughing at memories, being content at honouring their Mum/Nana. A good day at a sad time.