Pay for
The Funeral
There are a few ways of paying for a funeral. Most funeral service providers require payment upfront. If your loved one had a funeral policy, the policy details need to be given to the funeral director to verify. If your loved one didn’t have a funeral policy there are a few alternatives you can consider.
Payment
Options
If your loved one didn’t have a funeral policy and you cannot afford to pay for the funeral, you can ask the funeral home if they can submit the invoice to the executor for payment out of the funds in the estate. However, many funeral services will not agree to this method of payment due to the length of time it can take for an estate to wind up and the possibility that the estate could be insolvent, in which case the funeral director might not receive payment.
Some estate administrators will advance the money to pay for the funeral from the estate, depending on the financial status of the individual.
The other alternative is to consider a short term loan from the bank or other registered credit provider. If this is the route you are taking, be sure to tailor your funeral to your budget, there are many wonderful ways of honouring your loved one that don’t require a fortune to be spent.
The average funeral in South Africa costs about R70 000, which could be an enormous burden on any family. To save loved ones the added stress at the time of your passing, we strongly advise all who read this to consider getting a funeral policy in order to cover your own funeral costs and consider covering the cost of other members of the family. Many funeral policies do make provision for family members.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, all come from earth, and to earth all return.
Ashes to ashes,
dust to dust,
all come from earth,
and to earth all return.