You can apply for money to help cover COVID funeral costs. Here’s how
If you lost a loved one to COVID-19, you can apply for some financial assistance to cover funeral costs, including cremation, burial plots, officiant services and caskets.
To be eligible for the government aid, the death must have occurred on or after Jan. 20, 2020 and be attributed directly or indirectly to COVID-19 on a death certificate, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many,” FEMA’s website says. “We are dedicated to helping ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by the virus.”
More than 820,000 people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19 as of Dec. 28, a Johns Hopkins tracker shows, and more than 5.4 million have died worldwide.
How to apply for FEMA COVID-19 funeral financial assistance
You cannot apply online, but rather a 20-minute phone call is all that’s needed. You can find the toll-free number here.
FEMA representatives will assign you an application number. Then, you will have to submit documents — a copy of a death certificate, proof of funeral expenses and proof of funeral assistance received from other sources — via fax, mail or your DisasterAssistance.gov account.
If everything checks out, you will receive your money through direct deposit or a check by mail, depending on what you prefer.
If FEMA decides you are not eligible for the financial assistance, you have 60 days from the date noted on your decision letter to upload, fax or mail a signed letter appealing its decision.
As of Dec. 28, there is no deadline to apply.
Who is eligible to apply?
Anyone who is a U.S. citizen, a non-citizen national or a “qualified alien” who acquired COVID-related funeral expenses on or after Jan. 20, 2020 is eligible to apply.
If a death certificate was issued between Jan. 20 and May 16, 2020, it must attribute the death directly or indirectly to COVID-19. If it doesn’t, you must also provide “a signed statement from the original certifier of the death certificate, or the local medical examiner or coroner from the jurisdiction in which the death occurred listing COVID-19 as a cause or contributing cause of death.”
If the death certificate was issued on or after May 17, 2020, all it needs is a direct or indirect attribution to COVID-19.
Foreign students, temporary work visa holders, temporary tourist visa holders and citizens of the “Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands” are not eligible to apply.
What happens if more than one loved one dies of COVID-19?
If more than one loved one dies of COVID-19, you may receive a maximum of $9,000 per deceased person, as well as a maximum of $35,000 per application.
Will the funds run out?
No, the FEMA COVID-19 funeral money cannot run dry as of Dec. 28.
The funding was approved under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
No funding gap has been identified.
This story was originally published December 28, 2021 at 3:55 PM with the headline "You can apply for money to help cover COVID funeral costs. Here’s how."
