Launch of Children’s Funeral Fund Promises Help for Bereaved Parents 0

Children’s Funeral Fund

The launch of the Children’s Funeral Fund was announced this week, over a year since then-Prime Minister Theresa May approved it. The Fund offers bereaved parents much-needed help with cremation, burial and coffin costs.

The Children’s Funeral Fund comes as a result of a lengthy cross-party campaign led by Labour MP Carolyn Harris, whose son Martin died tragically at the age of 8. Harris’ tireless campaigning has already led to success in Wales, with England following suit now.

 

Who does the Children’s Funeral Fund help?

The Children’s Funeral Fund offers financial support to parents who have lost a child under the age of 18. The Fund also supports parents who lose a child in the late stages of pregnancy, after 24 weeks.

 

What does the Children’s Funeral Fund cover?

The Fund will cover:

  • All cremation costs, including certificates
  • All burial fees, including grave digging 
  • Up to £300 towards the cost of a coffin

 

How do parents claim from the Fund?

The Children’s Funeral Fund is organised so that most parents won’t have to do more than they usually would to arrange their child’s funeral. Instead, funeral directors and staff at crematoria and cemeteries will simply apply to the Fund for payment for their services.

Families who choose to arrange the funeral themselves, without the help of a funeral director, will also be able to apply to the Children’s Funeral Fund on their own behalf.

If you are a funeral professional and you’d like to find out more about how exactly to claim from the Children’s Funeral Fund on behalf of a family, click here.

 

What doesn’t the Children’s Funeral Fund cover?

Most funeral directors waive their professional fees when caring for a child who has died. Now, with the coffin,cremation and burial fees also taken care of, the cost of a funeral is almost completely covered. Parents will only have to pay for a few third party services, such as flowers and a venue for the wake.

 

Is other help available?

For parents who need financial help with the remaining costs, it’s useful to know that they will still be able to apply for the Funeral Expenses Payment. This is a type of government grant available to pay for a funeral if the family is on certain qualifying benefits. You can find out more about the Funeral Expenses Payment and other forms of financial support here.

Are you a bereaved parent, or a funeral professional? Share your thoughts about the new Children’s Funeral Fund here.

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Beyond ‘Let’s Talk About Death’ Campaign Wins Drum Award 0

Beyond win Drum Out of Home Awards

Season’s greetings!

Celebrations are underway at the Beyond office this week, as we’ve been given an early Christmas present: a prestigious marketing award!

Our summer ‘Let’s Talk About Death’ campaign has won the Drum Creative Out of Home Award in the ‘Viral’ category, with the judges praising our success in driving a conversation about death against the odds.

Let’s talk about death…

Released mid-July, our ‘Let’s Talk About Death’ campaign used a little black humour to break through the silence that surrounds anything death-related. You can check out all of the ads here.

Rejected by TFL, the ‘Let’s Talk About Death’ campaign found new life on social media. The ‘banned’ ads were then quickly picked up by press across the world. We appeared in print, on TV and on the radio, sparking an energetic debate about whether and how we should talk about funeral services.

As we’ve said before, we couldn’t be more delighted with the results of this campaign. We strongly believe that to drive positive change in this industry – whether that be price transparency, or a better approach to after life services overall – we as a society need to be talking about death.

This campaign achieved that. And, as an added bonus, thousands of people have created their will online with us for free, raising several hundred thousand pounds for charity through legacy gifts.

Beyond win Drum Out of Home Award 2018Our CEO, Ian Strang, has this to say:

“When something is taboo, as with death, it creates an environment where bad actors can operate. And our fear of engaging on the subject – creating that shared code of silence – allows predators to rip us off. We pay too much for funerals, funeral plans and wills because we don’t feel able to shop around.

“Following the controversy, we were overwhelmed by the support we received from the public and this award gives a further stamp of approval from the advertising industry to our campaign.”

Thank you for your support

As gratifying as awards are, the most rewarding outcome from this campaign has been the support we’ve received both from those in the industry and the general public.

We’ve heard from independent funeral directors, who appreciated that only by breaking the silence around funerals could we advocate for those in this industry who offer the best value and service to their customers.

We’ve also heard from non-profits – those who campaign for the same fairness and transparency we aim to provide.

And we’ve heard from bereaved people themselves, who stood up for us and fought for their right to know that services like ours exist. This support has meant the world to us.

In the end, 76% of those who saw our ads agreed that they didn’t deserve to be hidden away: that a conversation about death is a conversation worth having. To all those people, thank you. And let’s keep that conversation going.

Government Probate Fee Hikes to Hit Bereaved Families Hard 0

Family holds up piggy bank spilling out coins

In a controversial move, the government will be changing their official probate fees from £215 to as much as £6,000 for some bereaved families.

At the moment, families who need a grant of representation to settle the estate of someone who has died pay £215 in government probate fees, or £155 if they have professional help. Estates worth less than £5,000 are exempt.

Under the new fee structure, families settling an estate worth more than £50,000 will pay between £250 and £6,000, depending on the size of the estate.

Opponents of the new probate fees have called them a “stealth tax” that will hit vulnerable bereaved families hard.

However, the government has said that due to the higher threshold for fee payment, an extra 25,000 families each year won’t pay anything at all. 80% of those who will need to pay will face fees of £750 or less, with a maximum of 0.5% taken from any estate.

“Fair and more progressive”

In a written announcement, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Ministry of Justice Lucy Frazer MP said: “This new banded fee model represents a fair and more progressive way to pay for probate services compared to the current flat fee and reflects our commitment to protecting access to justice by ensuring we have a properly funded and resourced courts system.”

She also claimed that there were “several options” for families to fund the new higher fees and those who struggle to pay may be able to apply to the Lord Chancellor to remit the cost under exceptional circumstances.

“£10 million” in charitable income lost

As well as families, the change in probate fees could also have a significant impact on charities, which often rely heavily on the ‘legacy’ money that people leave to them in wills. The Institute of Legacy Management estimates that the higher charges could cost charities as much as £10 million a year in lost income.

Matthew Lagden, chief executive of the ILM, said that “The government’s own impact assessment acknowledges that the current fees cover the average costs of making a grant of probate, so we are clear that this is a stealth tax, which will be borne in part by charities,”

“We are also very concerned that the government’s impact assessment dismisses the costs to the charity sector as ‘not expected to be substantial’, when the £10m lost to this tax would fund vital services across England and Wales.”

What are probate fees for?

When someone dies, the executor of their will (or if there’s no will, their next of kin) needs to sort out their legal and financial affairs. Their money, property, assets and belongings all need to be passed on to the right people.

To access things like bank accounts, change property deeds, or transfer shares belonging to the person who has died, a grant of representation may be needed. This is an official document that states that a person has the legal right to settle the estate.

To set the grant up, the HM Courts and Tribunals Service charges a probate fee – so called because the kind of grant of representation you get is called a grant of probate if there’s a will. It’s called a letter of administration if not.

On average, 51% of estates in England and Wales can only be settled with a grant of representation.

How are the fees changing?

The current probate fee is a flat rate of £215 charged to DIY applicants, or £155 for those using professional help. It’s the same for estates of all sizes.

The new probate fees will be based on how much the estate is worth in total:

  • <£50,000: no fee
  • £50,000 – £300,000: £250
  • £300,000 – £500,000: £750
  • £500,000 – £1 million: £2,500
  • £1 million – £1.6 million: £4,000
  • £1.6 million – £2 million: £5,000
  • £2 million or more: £6,000

When will the higher probate fees come in?

The new fee structure will apply from April 2019 on.