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My sister in law who was in her early 40s just died of Cancer. It was a slow and painful death but now the Lord has taken her to a better place. Her years on earth with filled with pain and financial difficulties. She had no money or real assets at her death, just tons of Credit Card and Medical debts.
The only thing that anyone outside the family is offering her is a small $10,000 Life Insurance payment that her Father as the beneficiary will receive in about 60 days. It is my understanding that her estate consists of nothing but a 1989 Ford Taurus with 147,000 miles. She had no savings, investments or cash. She lived with her parents and had no real personal belongings.
If you were her low fixed income Parents would you have a nice $10K Funeral, or go the direct cremation route and pay off all her credit card and medical bills? Looking for advice on nice Funeral vs bills.
The insurance money is free and clear, its not subject to be garnished for debts. Have a very small funeral with friends over after. Let the parents decide what to do with the money they do not have to pay her debts with the insurance money. They need it more than a funeral home.
I dont know how it is over there about parents paying daughters debt..
but i dont belewe in big fancy funurals. I belew the "right" funural is about respect for the dead. and their belewes. (asume this woman where christian and her parents the same)
So a direct cremation and after a tripp to local church and im sure the priest gives a good sermoni. And friends and pep who know her will give good respect that way.
And she does deserv respect even if she lived with her parents.
Fancy it up just have nothing to do with the real issues of life.
In reality, $10,000 won't buy the greatest funeral, but it can be a nice one. Spend all of it on the funeral; that's what such life insurance should be used for. Debt collectors could only come after her estate; from what you said, she doesn't have an "estate", unless her parents sell her car!
As an aside, caskets can be incredibly expensive. High end ones can go for $30,000 and up! I mean, I certainly wouldn't use a cardbox box, but $30,000?!!!
She didn't express her wishes to anyone, even though she was sick?
If not, it's really up to the parents to decide, since she wasn't married. They should still have a funeral and use the $10,000, that's what it's for.
Those undertakers adjust to the amount of money they think is available. First I would never tell them $10K was paid to anybody. My understanding is the 10K goes to the father. Let him pay the expense for a nice direct cremation, forget caskets. Take the ashes and do something appropiate as decided by the family. Have a nice funeral service.
Many times those ashes can be put into the burial of another person, say mother or father or somebody close who is already gone. There is a small fee to open the grave again. Or you can just wait and place them with someone else close if they are buried or they can be scattered or just kept in the family for a while.
Forget her debts, can't get blood out of a stone. As Mystree66 sezs, write deceased on them and return it. Chuckle at bill collectors trying to get something.
Let the bulk of the money take care of the living. Today, folks need all the help they can get. The dead have no need for money or fancy funerals, those are actually for the living who remain in most cases.
Her parents will not be responsible for her debts unless they are co-owners of the credit cards. Get copies of the death certificate and send it to her creditors advising that there is no estate. This will prevent phone calls to the house one thing her parents don't need during this time.
As far as the funeral let her parents do what they feel comfortable with. Someone can offer the different options but should not pressure them into doing something. They just lost their daughter they don't need to have to worry about everyone saying "don't spend a lot of money".
A few months from now the last thing they need is to feel guilty because they were "talked" into not laying their daughter to rest the way they wanted.
It is up to the parents. Putting together a nice funeral can help some people grieve; it really helped my family when my grandmother died. I am not sure why that is the case. Something about picking out her favorite flowers, providing her favorite Italian foods after, honoring her culture, her church, her tastes, and making a big deal out of it was all stuff she would have loved; and that comforted us.
It's up to them. Offer your emotional support in whatever they choose to do.
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I would not do a fancy funeral
