Help With Costs

Losing a loved one is hard enough without having to worry about money.

Funeral directors have a duty of care to protect the bereaved from financial difficulty.

We offer service options to suit all budgets, and transparent pricing with no hidden costs.

When arranging a service, we kindly request payment be made before the date of the funeral.

If you have concerns about paying for a funeral, please consider:

Does your loved one have a funeral plan or insurance policy?

A funeral plan or insurance policy may cover some of or even all the costs of a funeral.

Please call on 01473 805525 to find out more.

Is there an estate?

If there are funds in the deceased’s account, their bank will be able to make payment for a funeral upon receipt of a Certified Copy of the Entry of Death (Death Certificate) and an itemised invoice from your nominated funeral provider. There is no requirement for probate to be completed before this payment can be made and it is possible even once the account has been frozen.

PLEASE NOTE – It is illegal to attempt to make payment for a funeral (or anything else!) with a deceased person’s bank cards.

If you intend to pay for a funeral using funds from elsewhere in the estate (e.g. with funds from a house sale etc.) please call on 01473 805525 to discuss options.

If you do not have the money to pay for a funeral, you may be entitled to help with costs from the Department of Work and Pensions. For example:

Funeral Expenses Payment

Can help pay for:

Burial fees
Cremation fees
Travel to arrange or go to the funeral
The cost of moving the body within the UK, if it’s being moved more than 50 miles
Death certificates or other documents

You can also get up to £1,000 for any other funeral expenses, such as funeral director’s fees, flowers or the coffin.

The payment will not usually cover all of the costs of the funeral.

How much you get depends on your circumstances. This includes any other money that’s available to cover the costs, for example from an insurance policy or the deceased person’s estate.

You may be entitled if you are in receipt of any of the following:

Housing Benefit
The disability or severe disability element of Working Tax Credit
Pension Credit
Universal Credit
Child Tax Credit
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.

And are:

the partner, close friend or relative of the person who died
the parent of a baby stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy
or the parent of a child who has died who was under 16, or under 20 and in full-time approved education.

For the purposes of claiming a funeral payment, you’re a close relative if you were:

the parent, father-in-law, mother-in-law or step-parent
the son, son-in-law, step-son or step-son-in-law
the daughter, daughter-in-law, step-daughter or step-daughter-in-law
the brother or brother-in-law / sister or sister-in-law.

The person who died is your partner if you:

lived with them and they were your husband, wife or civil partner or lived with them as if you were a married couple
lived with them as if you were a married couple immediately before you or they went to live in a care home
were a married couple or civil partners and living in the same care home
were living together as if you were a married couple in the same care home before your partner died.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply claim this benefit, go to GOV.UK

While Southgate and Roberts are not able to make the claim on your behalf, we are more than happy to offer advice and assistance.

Please call us on 01473 805525

You may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment if your husband, wife or civil partner died in the last 21 months.

You could be eligible if your partner either:

paid National Insurance contributions for at least 25 weeks in one tax year since 6 April 1975
died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by work

When they died you must have been:

under State Pension age
living in the UK or a country that pays bereavement benefits

If you get Child Benefit (or if you do not get it but are entitled to it), you’ll get the higher rate. (First payment of £3,500.00 followed by 18 monthly payments of £350.00)

If you do not get Child Benefit, you’ll get the lower rate unless you were pregnant when your husband, wife or civil partner died. (First payment of £2,500.00 followed by 18 monthly payments of £100.00)

(Figures correct as of August 2022 – for confirmation of exact amounts please check https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment/what-youll-get)

You can claim from the date the person died.

Claims can be only backdated up to three months.

To make a claim please visit https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment/how-to-claim

Depending upon your circumstances you may be entitled to other government assistance.

Please check https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/bereavement for more information.

If you have any questions, please call us on 01473 805525