The person who arranges the funeral is responsible for paying the final bill and it is important to know where the money for the funeral will come from. The funeral director will understand if you are anxious about this and it will be helpful to you and the funeral director if you explain your concerns very early in your discussions with him or her.
The deceased may have taken out a pre-paid funeral plan, paying for their funeral in advance. It is important to check their personal papers to see if they had a plan. If they did, this will usually cover the whole cost of the funeral.
If there is no funeral plan, the cost of the funeral will normally be met out of any money left by the deceased and, where money has been left, the funeral bill should be paid before any other bills or debts.
Even if the bank account of the deceased has been frozen following the death it may be possible to have funds released from a bank, building society or national savings account on showing the death certificate and funeral invoice.
The deceased may have had an insurance policy to cover funeral costs.
Sometimes relatives may need to borrow money until the money and property are sorted out and some funeral directors will allow payment to be delayed until this has happened but many funeral directors will require a deposit before the funeral to at least cover the costs of the disbursements which they have to pay to third parties.
Call us for advice on how to pay the funeral costs.