My Mother only has $4600 life insurance, HELP!

Cremation For my FIL this year cost us only $1300. If you are only having a church service and burial, you should be able to do it for under $4600 unless you buy a plot in the ground. Not sure how common it is in other states, but here, cremated people are more often placed in a cremation niche in columbarium rather than in the ground (I mean, you can put your loved ones urn in the ground but the columbarium is cheaper and that’s what most families opt for here). Looks like in your state the average cost of cremation is around $1300. So if you just have a church service, $4600 should more than cover the cost unless you opt for an actual burial plot—my MILs plot cost $4300! Had she been cremated and been placed in a columbarium niche, the total cost would have been around $2000 ($1300 cremation & $700 for the niche). Before you panic, contact local mortuaries & get their price lists. Same with the cemetery you plan to have her buried in.

Is your mom on Medicaid? If not she can put money into a pre-paid funeral fund without it being counted as an asset. Check with her county to see what the protected limit is. If she's already on Medicaid she can still put away for a pre-paid funeral but the limit is usually much lower. JoAnn is correct about the cost of cremation.

Cremation here is $2300. A service at Church with no funeral director involved should only cost u a donation to the Church and Minister. Burial, you maybe able to have her buried with Dad but would have to pay to have a spot opened.