How is a Funeral Paid For

Navara

Registered User
Nov 30, 2012
181
0
I have POA over mum's finances.

When she dies and the POA ends how do we pay for funeral expenses?

Sorry to sound naive but I want to be prepared and can't see how I would be able to pay for a funeral myself without access to mum's account.

Might it better to pay for a funeral now under a pre-payment plan?
 

Beetroot

Registered User
Aug 19, 2015
360
0
The bank that holds her account will normaly pay the funeral bill on receipt of the original invoice.

You could consider a pre-paid plan, if it's ok to spend the capital on it under the PoA. I'm sure someone will know the answer to that.

I did buy a pre-paid plan for step mother in law, but I had a deputyship for her, rather than an LPA so had to ask the CoP office for permission, which they readily granted, but not before the price had gone up they were that slow.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
0
Bury
I would not expect there to be any comeback as far as the OPG/COP are concerned.

Most LAs do not regard it as deprivation of capital although I believe this to be discretionary, the worst the could do is add it to capital as notional capital meaning that limits were reduced by the amount paid.

If buying a plan do some checking, not all funeral directors accept all plans and not all plans can be used with any funeral director.
 

marionq

Registered User
Apr 24, 2013
6,449
0
Scotland
If you look at big companies like Age UK you will get a choice of plans and they will list the local funeral directors they deal with. I think it is a good idea to have the arrangements done and dusted before the event to save stress.
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
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London
We've had a talk recently at the carers forum from a Quakers charity that is there to help you make a funeral affordable. They help you weed out the funeral directors quoting you thousands for things you don't need but agree to because you're distraught and vulnerable. She said an invoice from the funeral director is all you need to present to the deceased's bank and they should release the money without seeing probate. They did also warn about checking pre-paid funeral plans very carefully before committing to one. If, say, it's one that covers everything you want for a lump sum of £3,000 or so, they can be good. If it's one where you pay a monthly sum for years you could end up paying out a lot more than you should. Plus, they are often not very flexible in their arrangements. These days, some people want humanist funerals or not involve a funeral director (and there is no law in the land saying you have to), and that might prove problematic. Incidentally, she said Age UK had some of the most expensive funeral plans around, so do shop around a bit if you want one. But as said, unless you save money and time with one, you don't need one as banks will release money to pay for a funeral bill.
 

fizzie

Registered User
Jul 20, 2011
2,725
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I agree with Beate, pre paid are generally expensive and the bank gave us the money straight away
 

Pickles53

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
2,474
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Radcliffe on Trent
, she said Age UK had some of the most expensive funeral plans around, so do shop around a bit if you want one.

Absolutely agree Beate. Age UK has been in the limelight recently because their utility plans turned out not to be the cheapest for many customers. Insurance, funeral plans, everything else that charities now sell are commercial products and you need to do your homework before signing up.
 

Vera's den

Registered User
Feb 3, 2016
54
0
Lancashire
I have taken out funeral plans for my Mother and father in law with Age Uk and found them very reasonable. It depends what you require. The plan for fil was taken out just after mil died and the family were shocked at the cost of a funeral. the plan was for the same funeral and cost just a little less than mil's. That was four years ago so prices have risen.He did have savings to pay up front which saved any interest payments.
which have a price comparison guide to funeral plans so it may be worth checking them out. I'm unable to post a link not computer literate :confused: but I'm sure a Google search would find it.
 

marionq

Registered User
Apr 24, 2013
6,449
0
Scotland
I agree Vera. I took one out for my SIL as she has no relatives but us and is now 80. The price is about what we paid for BIL doing it ourselves in 2008 and if we are not around I know it will be taken care of.

It is the one off type of payment with no further money needed.
 

jan.s

Registered User
Sep 20, 2011
7,353
0
72
I have bought and paid for my own funeral. I have done this to save any kind of hassle for my nephews, as I have no immediate family.

For my husband, I used Age UK and couldn't fault the service I received, so I now have mine with them. The whole process was absolutely hassle free, but I did have to use an undertaker within their scheme, but that was made clear from the start. The undertakers couldn't be faulted.

The advantage was that I didn't need to worry about expenses at that time, paying for this and that. His bank told me they would pay for his funeral from his funds upon receipt of the invoice, but this wasn't necessary. I paid for the extras myself, such as flowers, etc, but mainly because I inherited everything anyway.
 

jaymor

Registered User
Jul 14, 2006
15,604
0
South Staffordshire
i took the invoice for the funeral costs to the bank along with the death certificate and they paid the bill from my husband's sole account, absolutely no problem, they sent a cheque within days to the Funeral Director.

I did not know I could do this, the Funeral Director advised me that I could in a letter that came with the invoice.
 

Spamar

Registered User
Oct 5, 2013
7,723
0
Suffolk
If you live in a country area and will probably use the local funeral director, check to see whether they do funeral plans and how they compare with others.
I must admit I was surprised at how cheap OHs funeral was! No cars, the crematorium is so far away, nobody can afford them! In fact, the F D told me they now don't have relatives cars. I did the funeral cards. I had caterers, friends of stepdau, came at reduced price. Easier! So much easier! And not expensive.
I paid for it out of OHs cash funds, as I was executor.
Just my experience.