'Delivering value in everything we do'.
At Welham Jones, we work with you to ensure your loved ones receive an appropriate, dignified yet affordable funeral. In keeping with our open, transparent approach, we publish our prices and charges and provide an online funeral cost calculator.
If you require financial assistance towards the cost of a funeral, this option may be available to you, depending upon your circumstances. The following is a guide to your eligibility for such assistance.
Receipt of Social Fund assistance toward funeral expenses is means tested according to the financial status of the person responsible for the cost of the funeral (not by that of the deceased).
Eligibility for benefit
A contribution toward the cost of any funeral you are arranging and paying for might be available if you, or your spouse or partner, receive one or more of the following benefits:
In most cases, it is unlikely that the amount paid by the social fund will cover the total cost of the funeral. You should check with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to confirm which benefits currently apply.
Should monies be required so that you are able to meet the funeral cost, we will issue a pro-forma invoice that you can take to the local DWP office along with the documents listed below.
When registering the death, the Registrar will, if asked, provide you with a white Certificate of Registration of Death, which is required to claim any Social Fund benefit. You must take this to your local DWP office together with the following documents (if they are to hand or you can easily obtain them):
Claims should be made within the three months following the death. It is advisable to lodge the claim as soon as possible, even if you do not have all of the required documents available to you. Any payment from the fund is usually sent directly to us within ten days.
Remember, Social Fund payments are not part of the deceased's estate and therefore not liable for estate duty. Any payments made can be recovered by the DWP when, and if, funds do become available from the deceased's estate.
Ineligible for assistance
Where the deceased had no money or assets, and there are no relatives or friends willing or able to accept financial responsibility for the cost of a funeral, a very basic cremation must be provided under statute. This may be undertaken by either the local NHS Trust, if the death occurred in hospital, or the Local Authority, if the deceased died at home.
Alternatively we have two lower cost options for you to consider. Please contact your local branch of Welham Jones for more information.
Direct (£3,335 – third party charges extra)
This funeral provides for a service at a single place of committal be it a church with, near or adjacent to a burial ground, or to a crematorium on a date and at a time suitable to us (choose the date at additional cost).
Purely cremation £1,733.50 – including third party charges)
As the name implies this service is for families who, for whatever reason, want a cremation at the lowest possible cost. We will collect your loved one during the normal working day from their place of death*, attend to all the paperwork, provide a suitable coffin and transportation to a crematorium on a day, and at a time, of our choice. We will then collect the cremated remains and hold them for you for three months for you to collect or, at additional cost, send them to you. Either before or just after the cremation, with or without the cremated remains you can hold a memorial or thanksgiving service, have the cremated remains interred in a cemetery or churchyard, or purchase an ornament and keep them at home.
You can find additional funeral resources here.
The small print:
•*Additional service items or options are available at additional cost; please enquire,
•For the Direct and Purely Cremation options we ask for payment in full at the time of order,
•A pro-forma invoice is available for Benefit Agency Support.