Resources For Losing A Loved One

Losing a loved one is an emotional blow. It can often be difficult to know what to do in the event of a death, whether it’s the end result of a sudden accident or a long-expected end to a terminal disease. Below are resources that you can use to navigate the various issues a death may cause.

Dealing With Insurance

If the person who has passed has insurance, it will be easier to cover the expenses associated with their death. There are two basic types of insurance that will cover after-death services. Burial Insurance usually covers $5,000 to $25,000 dollars, depending on the policy. This money is paid directly to the beneficiary designated by the policyholder and can be used in any way the beneficiary sees fit. For example, the beneficiary may use half of the money to pay for a cremation and memorial service, then use the rest to pay out any outstanding bills left behind by the estate.

Preneed Funeral Insurance also covers the expenses but is paid directly to the funeral home or other services by the insurer on the policy. This kind of insurance may help protect against inflation by pre-paying for services and locking in the prices set at the time of purchase instead of paying the prices that may be set in the future. If the person didn’t have either of these types of policies but did have some form of life insurance, the monies will be paid to the beneficiary to be used as desired.

Life insurance policies should not be collected until the policyholder has passed away. If someone does attempt to collect on an insurance policy where the holder hasn’t actually died, they can be charged with insurance fraud. However, in a genuine case of death, it will usually be paid as quickly as the insurance policy confirms that the death of the insured has happened, in order to avoid interest payments due to delayed payout. The type of payout may vary. Depending on how the policyholder set up the policy, it may be paid as a lump sum or be paid as an annuity (installment payments) for a fixed number of years or throughout the beneficiary’s lifetime.

A certified copy of the death certificate will need to be submitted to the insurance company, and they have between 30 and 60 days to review it prior to denying or paying the claim. Delays might be caused if the policy was taken out 2 years or less before the insured’s death, as the company will need to investigate to make sure the application for insurance wasn’t fraudulent to scam the company. Another delay or straight out denial may come if the insured either committed suicide or was the victim of a homicide; most policies have clauses to prevent payout within the first 2 years (or even at all) in the event of a suicide, and insurance companies will want to confer with investigating detectives in the case of homicide to ensure the beneficiary of the policy is not a suspect before making a payout on a policy.

Burial Plots

If your loved one, or your family, wanted a burial in a cemetery but hadn’t purchased a plot, that’s one of the things that need taking care of. There are many things to consider, including special rights that your loved one may have as a veteran or veteran’s spouse. The following outside linked pages* have good information on costs, types of plots, and burial circumstances that may be required in order to select a cemetery that meets your needs.

Burial Assistance

In some cases, were no financial plans in place to ensure that after-death details were taken care of. In that case, families often need help to pay these expenses. The list below* has resources you can use to make up financial shortfalls in the event of a death.

Dealing With Suicides

Losing a family member or loved one to suicide is especially difficult. There are several resources available to help people through this time. Some of these are listed below.

* No company featured in this article is associated with Evolve:Lyfe or the Evolve Community in any way. Neither Evolve:Lyfe, Evolve Community, nor any persons associated with them have received any financial compensation or special considerations for the featured placements on this page. Information is provided solely as a resource consolidation service for our user community.