Hello straightdopers! A close friend of the family’s husband recently died suddenly. He had no life insurance policy, no provisions or will done up, and the social security benefit is under $300 --he basically left her with nothing but bills. The widow is now faced with funeral costs she can’t handle right now -though she works 2 jobs and makes ok money. He was a volunteer firefighter for 20 years (though not for a number of years ago…he was 64 when he died), but no other civic or religious organization affiliation. I believe he was forced to retire because of heart conditions and owned his own auto shop up to 10-12 years ago.
Any ideas on where she can look for assistance? The funeral home was very understanding, but short of taking up a family collection, we are looking for more options. Any ideas or directions to point towards? Thanks!!!
I don’t know of any assistance programs specifically set up to help people pay funeral expenses. Did the husband work? Often an employer will offer life insurance as part of the benefits package equal to a year of salary with additional coverage available for a fee. One or the other of her employers may offer some sort of spousal death benefit as well.
Absent that and absent the ability to pay for the funeral in a lump sum, best course of action is probably to work out a payment plan with the funeral home. She could look into the possibility of getting a loan to cover the expenses and consolidate the bills. I would also suggest speaking with an attorney knowledgable of probate issues to settle the debts of the estate and determine exactly what her legal obligations are.
IANAL etc. but I am going to put in yet another plug using this woman’s example as exhibit A of why everyone with any kind of family obligation should have a will and life insurance. It doesn’t cost that much to see an attorney to make out a simple will or to get a basic life insurance policy through an employer or otherwise and it saves your survivors all kinds of trouble.
Thanks Otto…I agree with your “plug” for will planning/life insurance and as a matter of fact, mentioned that to them a couple months ago…I’ve been best friends with the widow’s daughter for some time and since my father’s a life insurance salesman/estate planner, I’ve been toting the merits of estate planning & insurance forever. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t really hit home for some as a need until it really happens.
I will pass on the info concerning consulting an attorney for probate issues. Thanks!
