‘How are we going to pay?’ Carer shares burden of funeral costs after mum and sister die within months

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Susan Bradley by no means thought she would lose each her mom and sister within the area of 10 months.

The 51-year-old from Birmingham was devastated when her mom handed away on 9 June 2022 following a stroke and additional issues.

The emotional misery of her grief was solely intensified by the stress of having to scrape collectively cash for the funeral costs.

It comes as the price of dying has reached a document excessive within the UK, and one in 5 households expertise “notable financial concerns” when paying for a funeral, in accordance to SunLife’s Cost of Dying report for 2024.

Have you been affected by this? Email maryam.zakir-hussain@impartial.co.uk

The complete bills with Co-Op Funeralcare amounted to £4,800, which was to be break up between six family members.

“As soon as they sent the bill, I thought, ‘Where are we getting the funding from?’” Ms Bradley informed The Independent. “We scraped the money together, but it was stressful. I had to think about covering my household bills as well, and whether I could afford to put that much across.”

The 51-year-old mentioned she had to be “extra careful” with cash and was pressured to neglect some of her long-standing funds.

“I had some credit card debts which got put to one side,” she defined. “I didn’t deal with it because I was dealing with everything else.”

After struggling by way of her mom’s funeral costs, Ms Bradley was confronted with one other tragedy – her sister’s sudden passing on the age of 37 in April final 12 months.

Jemma Bradley had suffered from cerebral palsy however after breaking her hip following her mom’s dying, her well being took a flip for the more serious; she received sepsis and died of liver failure.

But grief was pressured to take a backseat because the expensive actuality of one other funeral hit residence. The invoice for her sister’s funeral elevated by £1,000 from that of her mom’s the earlier 12 months.

“I was so overwhelmed,” Ms Bradley mentioned. “Everybody was worried about how we were going to pay for the funeral. It definitely has a mental impact on you.”

With her carer’s allowance her solely earnings, plus the extra costs of taking in her sister’s two kids, Ms Bradley reached out for assist to cowl the costs of the funeral.

She googled till she discovered Down to Earth, a UK-wide helpline providing recommendation and sensible assist to individuals combating funeral costs.

Down to Earth made an utility for Ms Bradley to charity Turn2us who awarded the household £1,980 in direction of the funeral. They additionally directed Ms Bradley to Teaching Staff Trust, who present hardship grants to assist individuals in or beforehand concerned within the training sector by way of occasions of monetary bother.

The belief helped the household cowl the bulk of the remaining bills of the funeral, considerably decreasing the burden for Ms Bradley’s household.

Lindesay Mace, co-manager of the Quaker Social Action’s funeral poverty undertaking, mentioned: “The worry of how to afford funeral costs causes deep stress and anxiety and robs people of their right to grieve.

“We have been supporting people for 14 years, it’s not new for us to hear people say they are skipping meals or not turning on their heating but we are hearing it a lot more now. The amount of money from the government to help those people has eroded in real terms.”

Down to Earth additionally helps individuals to discover methods they’ll scale back costs, however Ms Mace mentioned there’s nonetheless societal stress to have expensive merchandise and providers that are not vital for funerals.

“People are often going through some of the darkest moments in their lives and at the same time dealing with feelings of shame and guilt.

“They find they are unable to do perhaps what that person wanted or what they feel is right to honour that person. It makes some people very ill – mentally, emotionally, and physically.

“But to know they are not alone and can speak to someone who can empathise makes a massive difference.”

:: This article beforehand mentioned Down to Earth gave the household £1,800 in direction of the funeral costs. This has been corrected to say Down to Earth made an utility on behalf of the household to charity Turn2Us, who awarded the household £1,980.