Social assistance for burial expenses

If your deceased loved one was destitute, the person arranging the funeral can apply for supplementary social assistance from the wellbeing services county to which the deceased’s last municipality of residence belongs. Social assistance may be granted for necessary costs directly arising from the burial, if the assets of the estate are not enough to cover the funeral costs.

If the deceased was destitute, the person managing the estate of the deceased or the person/relative arranging the funeral must apply for supplementary social assistance for burial expenses before agreeing on the funeral. The potential assistance will be granted in the form of a payment commitment to a contract supplier of the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County.

A payment commitment for the burial is applied for with a free-form application from the social services for adults in the deceased’s last municipality of residence. The application can be posted or brought in person to an adult social work office. An application for a burial cannot be made electronically, because the decision is made in the name of the deceased. In addition to the deceased’s personal data, the application must indicate the contact information (name, address and phone number) of the person applying for assistance.

The following must be attached to the application:

bank statement of all the deceased’s bank accounts, including ones shared with the spouse, as well as the balances of the accounts from the date of death
the most recent tax decision

The processing of the application takes 7 business days, if accompanied by the necessary documents. The payment commitment is delivered directly to the funeral home and the decision is sent to the relative by post.

If the assistance is applied for only after the funeral has been agreed, the possible assistance will be granted in accordance with the Western Uusimaa’s contract supplier prices, according to the most inexpensive option. Invoices caused by the burial must be submitted as an attachment to the application.

In principle, funerals are paid with the deceased’s own funds. Often, the destitute deceased was already a client of social services and/or received social assistance from Kela. The deceased’s assets and property are taken into account when determining the burial grant. The assets of the estate are considered to consists of the balance of the deceased’s bank account on the date of their death, any possible coming tax returns and other income payable after death as well as any other assets and property. Similarly, the widow(er)’s income and assets are taken into account (this does not apply to the common-law spouse’s income and assets). If the deceased was a minor, their parents’ wealth is taken into account. Support and help for settling the estate and making the estate inventory can be sought from a legal aid office.

The insolvency of the estate is established by presenting the deceased’s bank statements and last tax decision. If the tax decision reveals immovable property but the account has no funds, the burial can be granted by collecting the funeral expenses from the estate. An unduly paid burial grant can be recovered.

Burial expenses are primary expenses (Code of Inheritance 40/1965, Chapter 21, Section 1). Before any other invoices can be paid with the funds of the estate, the costs caused by the burial must be established. If there are no funds left in the estate for the payment of other invoices, the invoices become a loss for the creditors. Social assistance is only granted for burial expenses, not any other invoices of the deceased.

If, on the basis of the bank's balance certificates and the tax decision, it is determined that the deceased has assets or property, supplementary social assistance for the burial will not be granted. The decision will also take into account funds that the estate is about to receive (e.g. pension and tax returns). Burial expenses can also be covered partially according to the deceased’s assets. An unduly paid burial grant can be recovered.

The primary responsibility lies with the person whom the deceased named as the one they wanted to take care of the funeral while they were still alive. Otherwise, funeral arrangements can be made by the deceased’s spouse or common-law spouse, heir, other close relative or friend. Usually, the relatives agree that one of them assumes the main responsibility for the arrangements, or that the tasks are shared between the relatives. If the relatives cannot agree on the arrangements, the matter may be brought before a district court.

If the deceased did not have any loved ones who could be responsible for their burial, the responsibility for arranging the burial is transferred to the deceased’s municipality of residence (Funeral Services Act 457/2003, Section 23).

Supplementary social assistance may be granted for expenses arising from coffin burials or service packages for urn burials. Necessary burial expenses include the following:

A coffin in solid wood draped in translucent cotton fabric or an ecological coffin in solid wood, planed pine wood.
If you wish, a small floral decoration may be added on the coffin.
Clothing:
- a burial gown with lace trimmings and long white socks for women
- a white burial gown in cotton, a bow tie and long white socks for men.
Dressing the deceased and placing them in the coffin
One local transport and office fee for funeral home services
Moving an existing gravestone for grave digging, if necessary
Cremation and a solid pine urn. If the ashes are scattered, we recommend that you borrow an urn for the occasion from the crematorium or use a cardboard urn.
Necessary parochial fees

For which purposes is assistance not granted?

Social assistance is not granted for death notices or announcements in newspapers, mandatory lawn maintenance fees, rent of chapels or other facilities, monument fees (such as fees for plaques, gravestones and inscriptions), memorial service fees, estate inventories, pallbearers, or transporting or sending the urn by post to another municipality.

If the person has died abroad, their relatives must contact the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Supplementary social assistance is not granted for the transportation costs of the deceased. Supplementary social assistance is also not granted for funerals abroad.

Guidance and advice

If you need guidance and advice, you can contact adult social services.

If you have any questions about the decision on debt collection, you can call the financial service center at 029 151 2195 (Mon-Fri 9-10).

In addition to their grief, the relatives of the deceased have practical matters they need to attend to. The guidebook Death of a Close Family Member helps the relatives of the deceased manage things such as funeral arrangements, estate inventory and other things related to death. The guidebook also advises where to get support for processing grief.

Read the guidebook Death of a Close Family Member

The whole Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County

Social assistance for burial expenses

To whom and on what basis is social assistance granted for funeral expenses?

Who is responsible for arranging the funeral?

For which purposes is assistance not granted?

Guidance and advice