Sometimes, when your loved ones pass away you want to give them a good funeral ceremony. Getting financial assistance for funeral expenses is often searched by many people. While we understand your loss, and your willingness to pay respect to those who have deceased, there are some things you need to evaluate.
Funeral expenses can be affordable, or expensive. This depends on the family’s decision. However, creating a funeral that your family can’t afford is not recommended, because the most important and meaningful thing about the funeral is to gather family and friends to laugh and cry together. This means that you should try your best to avoid getting yourself a debt for a funeral because the amount of money it costs is not that important.
You may indeed be able to get the funeral you want by getting a loan, but many families fall into the financial trap because of this. Once you’re in debt for the funeral, there is currently no assistance coming from the government or the charities to wipe out that debt.
Government Financial Assistance for Funeral Expenses
That said if you have a low-income family and one of the family members passed, your government may be able to help. We said ‘may’ because not all of the state governments provide funding for this. Our good friends at the funerals.org have collected a good and reliable information about which state provide help directly, which state appointed the county government to help, and which state that doesn’t have financial assistance for funerals whatsoever.
It is important to note that the amount of financial assistance for funeral expenses is very limited, and they are meant for the poor. Most of the assistance will be able to cover a no-ceremony funeral or cremation. For example, Indiana State offers $600 for funeral expenses and $400 for cemetery expenses. Meanwhile, New York State appoints their county government that provides varies financial assistance (some $500, while others can reach up to $1,000). Please visit our reference section to see if your state supports funerals.
It is important to note that most of the information should be available from your State’s Department of Health and Human Services office. Contact your social worker if you and your family cannot afford a funeral.
What if I am Not Qualified for the Assistance?
Some families don’t know what to do because they are not eligible for the government based financial assistance for the funerals because their annual income is above the minimum wage, yet they can’t afford the funeral themselves. We encourage you to hold a humble funeral and do what you can do with the budget you have.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for a creative way to part ways with your loved ones in a low cost or even free manner, you may want to consider body donation to the medical school. This is a great way to help the future doctors of our country. Another alternative for a budget-friendly funeral is going to a home funeral. Please contact your local FCA national office for help.
I hope this can help you with your search for financial assistance for funeral expenses.
See Also: Is There a Government Grant for Funeral Cost?
Reference:
- What to Do When There’s No Money for a Funeral
- Image: hammondryder.co.nz
