How to Pay for a Funeral
Last updated November 2026
Advance payment is almost always required for cremation and immediate burial. For traditional funerals, some homes ask for payment once arrangements are decided, although they might work out an installment plan. Other homes allow 30 to 60 days for payment with no interest charges, and almost all accept credit cards.
Check for Available Benefits
Because many people are not aware of the benefits available for final expenses, money often remains unclaimed. Remember that most death benefits are not automatically sent to survivors and must be applied for.
Filing for death benefits on behalf of survivors is a standard service of most funeral homes. If survivors decide to file their own claims, the funeral director should be asked if this will reduce the home’s “professional services” charge.
Social Security
A lump-sum Social Security death benefit of $255 is available to a surviving eligible spouse or dependent child (under 18). An application must be filed within two years of the death. Payment is made directly to the surviving spouse or entitled child, never the funeral home.
Veterans Benefits
Honorably discharged veterans and their spouses may be entitled to burial in one of 200 national cemeteries with a grave marker and a flag for the casket. Other benefits may be available if the death occurred during active duty or during hospitalization in a veterans’ facility. To check, contact the Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Benefits Administration (800-827-1000).
Other Benefits
Other possible death benefits are payments from fraternal organizations, lodges, clubs, union welfare funds, retirement plans, and employers. To track these down, survivors should get in touch with organizations and institutions the deceased worked for or was affiliated with. Many of these benefits are available for surviving relatives to use as they see fit, not only for funerals.
Necessary Documents
Application for death benefits will require obtaining many documents. In addition to their Social Security Number you’ll need multiple copies of:
- Certified copies of the death certificate (typically 10 to 15 copies)
- Birth certificates of surviving spouse and minor children
- Marriage certificate
- W-2 form or federal income tax return for the most recent calendar year
- Veteran’s discharge papers
- Receipted bill from funeral home
Avoid Prepaid Funeral Plans
It’s a good idea to write down your own preferences for your funeral arrangements and give them to a likely survivor or file a preference form with a funeral home without making any financial commitment.
Many funeral homes push plans allowing you to prepay for your funeral. These agreements represent major financial commitments and, in our opinion, are usually not prudent. Prepaid funerals often create more problems than they solve. Sometimes a new owner of a funeral home refuses to honor price guarantees made by the previous owner. Many “cash advance” items or services provided by a third party—fees for death certificates, opening and closing graves, engraving, and honoraria for clergy or musicians—are not guaranteed, so families frequently face additional expenses. And many unscrupulous funeral directors simply embezzle customers’ prepaid funds, leaving the family with nothing.
A simpler arrangement: Open a simple savings account and name your chosen funeral home as the recipient of the funds upon your death. Alternatively, open a joint savings account with a likely survivor who can access funds when you die. Both arrangements let the funds avoid probate and make them available immediately for funeral costs.
Tell your likely survivors about any arrangements you make with a funeral home, so they don’t pay for services elsewhere.