If you cannot afford a burial or cremation, you can sign a form with the county coroner's office and the state will bury or cremate the body for you. This will be at no cost, but you won't have any say in where or how.
If the next-of-kin aren't able or don't want to pay, there won't be a funeral. What happens if you refuse to pay for a funeral ? The funeral home is not obligated to take custody of a body. If a family does not or will not pay, the funeral home does not have to accept the body.
If you have no relatives to pay, if your relatives cannot pay, or they refuse to pay, a government program (usually through the county or state) will likely take care of your final arrangements. In this case, you might receive an "indigent" burial or cremation which will provide very simple, economical arrangements.
However, no one is legally obligated to pay for funeral expenses unless they sign an agreement. In most cases, the family will work together to create a financial plan for the funeral expenses. Funeral directors are an excellent resource for guidance on paying funeral expenses.
Typically, the costs of a funeral are shouldered by the estate of the deceased. Funeral expenses are a priority obligation that will be paid before most other estate debts. If, however, there still aren't enough funds, the person who signed the funeral contract will be responsible for the outstanding amount.
Bottom Line. You are not responsible for your parent's debt. Any debt that they held is managed through the estate, and then disposed of.
If you cannot afford a burial or cremation, you can sign a form with the county coroner's office and the state will bury or cremate the body for you. This will be at no cost, but you won't have any say in where or how.
You've signed a contract making you responsible for the payment, and if you do not pay what is owed by the agreed-upon date, then the funeral home can technically sue. This will be an expensive undertaking on everyone's part, and if they win, they can potentially garnish your wages or put a lien on your home.
While the Bible doesn't explicitly endorse cremation, there's also no scriptural passage that directly prohibits it.
If the deceased had no assets or property, it falls on the next of kin to pay for the funeral costs. However, no one is legally on the hook to pay funeral expenses unless they sign an agreement to that effect.
If there's no money in their estate, the debts will usually go unpaid. For survivors of deceased loved ones, including spouses, you're not responsible for their debts unless you shared legal responsibility for repaying as a co-signer, a joint account holder, or if you fall within another exception.
You won't be forced to pay for your father's funeral if you don't sign a contract with a funeral home. But since you're the only child, you're probably your father's next of kin, even though he's lived with his partner for 12 years. Very few states recognize common-law marriage.
The next-of-kin who is notified has 30 days to retrieve the body. If they don't claim it, or if no next-of-kin was ever identified, then the body is cremated and the county covers the cost. In the most straightforward cases, the next-of-kin is contacted and agrees to retrieve the body.
Attending the funeral can be an important part of the grieving process and many people find that it helps them to find closure. If you are confident that attending will be detrimental to your mental health and wellbeing, then most people will respect your decision not to attend.
Social Security offers a one-time, lump-sum payment of $255 to assist with funeral costs, including cremation costs. Social Security's death benefit program was established in 1935 and the payment was capped in 1954.
You don't necessarily need to worry about what happens to your body if you can't afford a funeral. Signing a form at the county coroner can authorize the release of your body to the state or county for burial or cremation. It may be possible to pay a fee to recover your ashes if your family would like them.
Medicaid and state assistance programs
California offers several state-specific programs to assist with funeral and cremation expenses for low-income individuals. Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, may provide assistance in certain situations.
If you're unable to pay for a funeral, you'll need to sign the body over to the coroner who will handle the disposition of the body.
There are typically no funeral or memorial services included in an indigent death. However, if there are funds to pay for services, the municipality paying the bill will request those funds as reimbursement.
Ask for help from charitable or government organizations
Check with your county coroner's office to find out if you qualify. You can also search for local or national nonprofit or religious organizations that offer help with paying for funeral expenses. Some national organizations include: Children's Burial Assistance.
Medical debt and hospital bills don't simply go away after death. In most states, they take priority in the probate process, meaning they usually are paid first, by selling off assets if need be.
Who is responsible for funeral costs? Most often, the cost of a funeral is paid for by the deceased person's estate. If there are no funds available in the estate to pay for funeral expenses, the responsibility usually falls on a family member (if they decide they'd like to be responsible for it).
If you contact the bank before consulting an attorney, you risk account freezes, which could severely delay auto-payments and direct deposits and most importantly mortgage payments. You should call Social Security right away to tell them about the death of your loved one.