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I dont know what happened, my mother has always insisted on insurance for her children or grandchildren, now since I have been caring for her, I have found no insurance policies and have seen no statements for insurance bills. How am I going to be able to bury my mom when the time comes?

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Hopelives43 please contact this non-profit and they will have contacts in your area. I used their guidebook "before I go...." years ago to start the elder conversations with my mother and her husband. funerals.org/   I wish to be cremated or turned into a tree (biossurn) but if I wanted the casket I'd go with the build your own kit off Amazon and ask people to write messages on it for me.
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What can I do in sc to bury my wife. No insurance and we r both on disability. Help!!
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I live in Seattle, WA and my mother lives in Concord, NC. Can I pay for burial insurance for her when she lives in another state?
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my dad don't want me to get burial insurance on him how can I get it anyway I wanna make sure he's covered.
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Ragex007's advice sounds useful. I didn't know about this possibility when my husband died in 2014, and borrowed money for his cremation.
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Please talk to your hospice chaplain or social worker, our hospice group referred us to a local funeral home that would do cremation for about half the price of most places.
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It is true that Massachusetts does bury the indigent for free...but please note that there is a big difference between a free burial and a free funeral. There is no free funeral.

When MA buries the indigent for free, it happens when they deem it will happen (often weeks or months after the death) and where it will happen (any cemetery). There is NO wake, NO funeral mass, NO flowers, NO bells and whistles...so no, you don't get a free funeral...you get a free simple casket and a plot (which is more than most states do, but is NOT a free funeral)

Angel
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Thanks, all who mentioned MedCure. I hadn't heard of it, and will look into it. I am 85, and borrowed money to have my husband's body cremated. I'm currently paying monthly installments for my own cremation. I will see what MedCure offers as an alternative for me.
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In Massachusetts undertakers are required to take an oath that they will bury indigent people free if the person has no insurance or assets. Check out your state laws.. when my mother passed she had no insurance and no assets and her funeral was free. The funeral home tried to bully me but I pushed back and found I was right.
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tell me how
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In addition to the notion that you can obtain caskets apart from the funeral home (ie, Costco and Walmart), you may also "rent" the casket. We did that for my mother's funeral. Although the funeral was still expensive because we opted for an open casket service (including prep for the corpse) with rosary and transport to her church, we also saved a lot because dad wanted her cremated, and so, no cost for a plot or headstone.
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My 91 yo father is in hospice. Agressive prostrate cancer which has spread to bladder, kidney, spine, ribs and shoulder. He actually seems to be doing very well in spite of everything. He is a WWII vet and burial will be at a local veterans cemetery. I am one of his 6 children and the only one to help with health and financial decisions. He has zero money...zero assets. Thank you for the info about the research option. Perhaps dad can offer something positive in death since he unfortunately chose to do little in life. It isn't always easy to be there for a parent who chose himself over his family.
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richell20022000, I'd talk to the people at the morgue. Likely the county has a program. Bodies must be taken care of. They used to bury people in a "pauper's grave" but now it's likely that they cremate. If the morgue won't/can't say, then check with county social services. Thanks for being so caring,
Carol
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1003mom talk to the Medicaid people right away. They'll likely let you put an amount into a burial fund at a local funeral home (from the policies). Then, you'll have to spend down the rest. She should qualify for Medicaid. Please talk with you local Medicaid people right away. Every state is a little different on what they require/allow.
Good luck,
Carol
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my close friend, whom passed away 7 years ago, son has passed away on Nov.23, 2014, in Baltimore, Maryland. He had no life insurance & was not on any public Assistance, his body is now at the city morge, we are trying to find how to him cremated, we are limited funds, I just want to know what are our options if no one can come up with enough money,
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My mother is 91 and in good health phy. but is showing signs of mental, memory loss.
She lives on 900.50 month no house, rents, no car. We are going to get her signed up for Medicade, in Michigan. She has three small insurance policies
we thought they would be okay to keep if she went on Medicade, but we called each one and she has built up equity in each policy. So we have a cash out valvue of 7,356.00. So can we keep these or will Medicade take the money when she goes on Medicade? If they take the money who is going to bury her?
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My neighbor's sister died suddenly and she has no life insurance. Matter fact to left nothing. The remaining siblings can not pay for her funeral. They have contacted the state, county, funeral homes, places that help the needy. Except no one can help. Right now the body is laying in a funeral home, and she has been dead for 4 days with no help in sight. Can you help, Please?
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Can I take out a policy on my 2 aunt in a another state
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no insurance sister died yesterday carnes has body wants her cremated what to do
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Thank you for this most helpful information. I just found out that my mother, who has always said she wanted to donate her body to medical science (but I actually thought she was too old to donate it!), has a very small insurance policy that probably won't even cover creamation(which I know she wants). I have never heard of MedCure and will do my research. This all is so new and overwhelming.......we haven't yet had an end of life discussion, I don't know how to start it, let alone bringing up final arrangements. Any suggestions?
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Everyone should have final expense insureance. If you don't have it, look in to it or I can help you...
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I live in Texas and lots of family drama in Calif. has left my mom who is 87 without her house or anything else. She now lives in an apt. My sister who once looked over mom's finances bought a plot for her years ago. How can I find out if it still exist. Family is not speaking to sis, and she will not take any calls from family.
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my husband just passed away and i dont know how i am going to bury him we have no insurance i dont know what i am going to do
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Cremation costs should be considered. Ashes in a box can be buried anywhere.
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I researched the internet after I read your post and discovered that many counties and states have programs set aside for people in your mother's situation. Also, there seemed to be several policies that are very inexpensive (no more than $3.50 a month) just for burial purposes.Was either your mother or father a vet? Most vets can be buried for free in a military cemetery if they are cremated. This can include the spouses of a vet. I hope you can find some information to help you. Have you tried to start with your family and children services? Best wishes. I will keep looking. RLP
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If your town has a victim assistance organization, they would be the first place to check, I would think. Call United Way, or maybe a local religious organization also. Good luck :)
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A friend from high school was murdered two nights ago. He has two daughters and was unemployed at the time. We have two days left to come up with the money to bury him. We would like to at least have a small service for his kids sake but times are hard for everyone. If anyone knows where we can find help please tell me! Thank you and God Bless!
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You can also consider a pre-paid funeral by using her Social Security income to pay for it in advance. All states have laws protecting the funds. Use a reputable funeral home that has been in business for a long time. I actually did this for my own father who was in a nursing home.....paid for the whole thing in advance including the cost of the funeral director driving 2 hours to pick up his body when he passed. The funeral home was owned/operated by a large extended family and had been in business for many decades. It went smoothly and we had a graveside memorial service in the summer when the weather was warmer and people could attend. (He died in the winter.)

The funeral does not have to be extravagant. You can have calling hours at the home and then a simple graveside service or memorial service at a church/temple later.

Since your mother was "into" insurance for her children, my guess is that she actually has a paid-up policy somewhere, since she surely had life insurance for herself and her husband. However, the papers could be anywhere. But if she had even a small life insurance policy, this would provide enough funds to pay for a simple but tasteful funeral.
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If you start up a funeral account for her, and she is on Medicaid, make sure that her resources do not exceed your state's resource limit. Talk to the funeral about making monthly payments on an "irrevocable" funeral account. If your mom is on Medicaid, make sure, first, that this is acceptable to Medicaid. If it is not, and the money in the account exceeds the Medicaid resource limit, she would no longer be eligible for Medicaid.
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I understand that the bank accounts are called Totten Accounts. Does she still have a car or furniture that could be sold? Like others have written, maybe some of her social security money could be set aside each month. You can get caskets through Walmart (!) much less expensive than going through the funeral home, but you would have to either store it or have it shipped to the funeral home at the time. You can still get a funeral policy and let them directly take some of her money out each month. It is supposed to be in effect from the first month you pay so they are obligated to honor the policy no matter how long she lives. Around here, just a basic funeral costs at least $3000. Death is not cheap in the US. (I also know a lady who donated her body to a research hospital, but I don't know how your Mom would feel about that.)
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