The COVID-19 pandemic has left many families in grief. We all know someone who is grieving for the loss of their loved one. This person’s grief may have been exacerbated by the responsibility to fund the loved one’s funeral, causing hardship on the ones left behind.
Prepared Love for Families (also known as The American Funeral Foundation) is a tax-exempt 501c3 organization whose founder witnessed financial hardship for burial expenses on a personal level. She witnessed the grief and burden left upon a family member who had the responsibility of burying her child due to an unexpected passing. This became one of a few reasons Prepared Love for Families was founded.
The mission of Prepared Love for Families (PL4F) is to provide families in crisis with emergency funeral funding, grief counseling services, loss preparedness educational services, and other supportive services during times of loss and transition, such as bereavement. For more information on this great organization, visit www.preparedlove.org
One way PL4F offers help for supportive services is by sharing information and referring other reputable organizations for services and programs that may also benefit families. One such program is FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program.
The Funeral Assistance Program reimburses families up to $9,000 for burial expenses related to COVID-19 death of a loved one. There are qualifications to apply. No online applications will be taken; however, there will be a designated phone number for families to call to get an application completed with help from FEMA’s representatives. There will be multilingual services and a TTY number available. This program is scheduled to be implemented sometime in April. It is recommended to begin gathering all documentation before calling. Please read further to learn if you or someone you know qualifies.
According to FEMA’s website, you can apply for COVID-19 Funeral Assistance if:
- You are a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien who paid for funeral expenses after January 20, 2020 and
- The funeral expenses were for an individual whose death in the United States, territories or the District of Columbia, may have been caused by or was likely the result of COVID-19.
If you meet the qualifications above, you can apply for assistance by calling the designated number and receiving help from FEMA’s representative. Once you have applied and received an application number, you can then submit your supporting documentation to FEMA.
How to submit supporting documentation:
- Upload to your DisasterAssistance.gov account
- Fax documents
- Mail documents
Any receipts you submit for expenses that are not related to funeral services and interment or cremation will not be eligible expenses.
Examples of eligible expenses are:
- Transportation for up to two individuals to identify the deceased individual
- Transfer of remains
- Casket or urn
- Burial plot or cremation niche
- Marker or headstone
- Clergy or officiant services
- Arrangement of the funeral ceremony
- Use of funeral home equipment or staff
- Cremation or interment costs
- Costs associated with producing and certifying multiple death certificates
- Additional expenses mandated by any applicable local or state government laws or ordinances
Please remember this list is not all-inclusive. If you have other expenses not listed here, it may qualify. You will just need to submit the receipts.
You may receive assistance for the funeral expenses of multiple deceased individuals. Assistance is limited to a maximum of $9,000 per funeral and a maximum of $35,500 per application per state, territory, or the District of Columbia.
If someone else helped you pay for funeral expenses FEMA will work with you. Although you must show your name as the responsible party on receipts, funeral home contracts, etc. in order to be approved for reimbursement of funeral expenses due to a COVID-19 fatality, it is common for others who help with funerals to have their names on the receipts. Those individuals must register with FEMA under your same application, and they must be listed as co-applicant. No more than one co-applicant can be included on an application.
Currently, March 30, 2021, there is no deadline to apply for COVID-19 Funeral Assistance. However, it is recommended to gather all documentation now so that when FEMA publishes the dedicated phone number for you to apply you will be ready before any future deadline.
You will need to provide certain information when registering:
- Social Security number for the applicant and the deceased individual
- Date of birth for the applicant and the deceased individual
- Current mailing address for the applicant
- Current telephone number for the applicant
- Location or address where the deceased individual passed away
- Information about burial or funeral insurance policies
- Information about other funeral assistance received, such as donations
- CARES Act grants and assistance from voluntary organizations
- Routing and account number of the applicant’s checking or savings account (for direct deposit, if requested)
You will need to provide certain documentation:
- Copy of the death certificate. (Must indicate the death was caused by, “may have been caused by” or “was likely a result of” COVID-19 or COVID-19-like symptoms. Basically, the cause of death must indicate a high likelihood of COVID-19.)
- The death must have occurred in the United States, including the U.S. territories, or the District of Columbia.
- COVID-19 Funeral Assistance is not available for the funeral expenses of U.S. citizens who died outside the United States.
- Proof of funeral expenses incurred. (receipts, funeral home contract, etc. must include the applicant’s name (your name if you are the one applying) as the person responsible for the expense, the deceased individual’s name, the amount of funeral expenses, and that funeral expenses were incurred AFTER January 20, 2020.
- Proof of assistance received from any other source. (Provide FEMA proof of funds received from other sources specifically used for funeral costs. COVID-19 Funeral Assistance may not duplicate benefits received from burial or funeral insurance assistance received from voluntary agencies, government programs or agencies, or other sources. COVID-19 Funeral Assistance will be reduced by the amount of other assistance you received for the same expenses. If Prepared Love for Families provided financial assistance you will need to provide proof and COVID-19 Funeral Assistance will be reduced by the amount of that assistance for the same expenses.
- Life insurance proceeds are not considered a duplication of Funeral Assistance benefits.
Did you know you could have a death certificate amended?
If the death certificate does not attribute the death to COVID-19, it may be amended. You will need to contact the person who certified the death, (the doctor, the coroner, or the medical examiner.) Their contact information is on the death certificate. You may need to present evidence to them to support the claim the death was attributable to COVID-19. If you live in Arkansas, you can learn how to get a copy of a death certificate here.
FEMA WARNS to BEWARE of SCAMS!
Remember that FEMA will not contact you until you have called FEMA or have applied for assistance. If someone out of the blue contacts you claiming to be a federal employee or from FEMA, DO NOT disclose your personal information such as the name, birth date or social security number of any deceased family member.
If you have any doubt about the caller, please hang up and call FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 or the National Center for Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721.
Prepared Love for Families Funeral Assistance Program is here to assist you with locating information, speaking on your behalf, or just help navigate through any complexities you may encounter as it relates to applying for FEMA’s Funeral Assistance Program. We will not ask for any personal information and do not require you to submit any documents to us for FEMA’s Funeral Assistance Program. We are here for guidance and support. We offer this free service to Arkansas residents. Visit us at the link below and complete the contact form.
Contact Us: https://preparedlove.org/contact/
