To discuss the arrangements you'd like, you may wish to contact a Funeral Director. You are entitled to ask for a free quotation and are under no obligation to use a Funeral Director if you want to undertake the arrangements yourself.
Funeral expenses
Expenses may include:
- doctor's certificates
- removal of the deceased
- care and embalming of the deceased
- hearse and limousine
- notices in local papers
- preparation services of the deceased
- church and Minister fees
- flowers
- cemetery or crematorium fees
- reception arrangement
- memorials
Help with funeral costs
If you're on a low income and need financial help to pay for a funeral, you may be able to get a one-off Funeral Payment.
For more information see: GOV.UK: Get help with funeral costs.
Bereavement Support Payment
You may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment if your partner has died.
For more information see: GOV.UK: Bereavement Support Payment.
Help with applications
If you need help with the applications for funeral expenses, you can visit The Department of Work and Pensions Office, Fortune House, Monument Hill, Weybridge KT13 8RB or call 0845 6043719.
If there is nobody to make suitable funeral arrangements
If there are no suitable funeral arrangements for the disposal of the deceased, the council will arrange for the deceased to be cremated or buried. The legislation allows for the recovery of expenses from the deceased's estate. For further information contact us online.
Burial
It is not a requirement to purchase the grant of exclusive right of burial in a grave space. A burial may be arranged in a common grave where the exclusive rights are not purchased. A common grave is shared with unrelated burials.
Independent funerals
There is no legal requirement to use the services of a funeral director You may wish to make all the arrangements yourself. If the death occurred at home, the deceased's doctor and nearest relative should be contacted as soon as possible.
Once the doctor has certified the cause of death, the body may be washed and dressed. If the death occurred in hospital the family will need to arrange for the body to be collected from the mortuary. A coffin can be made or purchased from a funeral director, and a large estate car or similar vehicle may be used for transportation of the deceased.
The death must be registered with the Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages at the Registry Office. A Certificate for Burial or Cremation will be issued to allow the funeral to go ahead. Arrangements for the ceremony can usually be made direct with the cemetery or crematorium. If a religious ceremony is required on the day of the funeral, the cemetery or crematorium usually has a list of ministers you may contact. If you do not wish to have a religious ceremony, a Civil Funeral Celebrant or Humanist Officiate may be used, or you could even conduct the ceremony yourself.
Municipal funerals
We can help with the funeral arrangements of a deceased person who has died in the borough if there is no one else able to make arrangements. Every effort will be made to recover the costs of the funeral from the deceased's estate. We try to ensure arrangements reflect the ethnic background or religious beliefs of the deceased.