Mom has dementia and is now in a nursing home. She appointed me as her POA. I am only able to find a small life insurance policy that will not be enough for her final arrangements. Is there any way to search and find out if someone has life insurance? She is 89 years old and will not qualify for a new policy.
I am interested in what the rest of the gang have to say here.
Most places allow direct burial and it saves thousands of dollars. You don't have to have embalming, in some places, if no viewing is done and there is direct burial. Also, you can order caskets online with great savings. They ship to the funeral home and they have to accept it. I'd question if they can get you one for less than what they show you in the showroom. Also there are all kinds of services that they may charge you, that you may not need. You can also go green, which means, you are buried in a natural container, like wicker. It's designed to protect the environment, but, also offers costs savings, if your loved one, was into that kind of thing.
There are options that can mean the difference in thousands of dollars. You can always have a memorial service later, that is free if not handled by the funeral home and have family meet at someone's home for the wake, especially if there are only family members or a few people who may show up. There are lots of sites online that give you lots of tips about how to cut down costs and still get what you need.