If your loved one passed away from Covid-19 after January 20, 2020 you may be entitled to reimbursement of up to $9000 for the funeral and burial expenses incurred. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has allocated funds to assist families struggling to pay for the costs. To be eligible for the funeral fund, you must meet the following requirements:
- Your loved one passed away in the United States.
- The official cause of death as indicated on the death certificate was Covid-19. (*See exception below)
- Both the deceased and the family member applicant are U.S. citizens, qualified non-citizens or non-citizen nationals.
- The applicant is responsible for qualifying funeral expenses incurred on or after January 20, 2020.
If you can meet all of those requirements, you can submit an application to FEMA and provide an itemization of the qualifying funeral, burial and/or cremation expenses you incurred. You must also provide proof that you are the one who in fact incurred those expenses. This can be a bank statement or funeral home contract. The application requires a copy of the death certificate that shows the date of death was on or after January 20, 2020 and the cause of death was Covid-19. (*See exception below)
The application process is initiated by calling a FEMA representative. The FEMA website does not currently have the capability to accept online applications. The FEMA representative will need the following information during the phone call:
- Your deceased loved one’s Social Security Number
- Your deceased loved one’s birth date
- Your deceased love one’s permanent residence as of the date of death
- Your bank account information for direct deposit
- A statement that provides any information about life insurance policies or any other type of Covid-19 relief money received
The purpose behind this initiative is to help families with financial hardships. If someone has a loved one that died of Covid-19 and he or she paid for eligible funeral and burial expenses out-of-pocket and did not receive any reimbursement from the decedent’s estate, a life insurance policy or any other relief program, then FEMA wants to help. At this point, it is unknown how long this relief effort will continue.
For further assistance with estate administration and probate issues following your loved one’s death from Covid-19, contact the probate attorneys at Stouffer Legal in the Greater Baltimore area for assistance. You can schedule an appointment by calling us at (443) 470-3599 or emailing us at office@stoufferlegal.com.
*EXCEPTION: If the death certificate was issued between January 20,2020 and May 16, 2020, FEMA requires that the death certificate states that the cause of death was directly or indirectly caused by Covid-19. You must provide FEMA with a signed statement from the original person who signed the death certificate or a local coroner in the jurisdiction where the person died.
