Help with funeral costs is available in certain situations. This is known as a Funeral Expenses Payment or a Funeral Payment. It is available to those who get certain benefits
Any Funeral Expenses Payment made is then deducted from any money you may receive for the deceased’s estate.
https://www.gov.uk/funeral-payments
You can check to see if the benefit you are receiving means you may be eligible for a Funeral Expenses Payment
The Children’s Funeral Fund for England can help to pay for some of the costs of a funeral for a child under 18 or a baby stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy. It is not means-tested. What you earn or how much you have in savings will not affect what you get. No one should now be charged for burial or cremation of a child. The fees for the burial or cremation can be claimed directly by the burial or cremation provider.
To help you know exactly what a funeral will cost some Funeral Directors have committed to a transparent pricing structure. This can help you to plan a funeral that you can afford to pay for without getting into debt. See Fair Funerals for further information.
Some trade unions offer financial support and/or general guidance that may help you with arranging and paying for a meaningful funeral.
The Money Advice Service, which offers free support with money management, recognises that paying for a funeral is expensive and outlines options on how to pay for a funeral.
A number of providers now offer Direct Cremations . These are unattended cremations without a funeral service. They cost much less than a traditional funeral but allow people to choose their own way to remember the person who has died.
In situations where the money available in the estate is insufficient to pay for the funeral and if there are no family or friends to arrange the funeral, the local council can make provision for a Public Health Funeral. Further information is available here. https://www.dudley.gov.uk/council-community/local-transparency/public-health-funerals/
