Covid-19 Funeral Assistance Available from FEMA
Coronavirus hasn’t been without tragedy. Over 1500 Delawareans have died since the pandemic began. FEMA has started accepting applications for Covid-19 Funeral Assistance – for Covid-19 related funeral expenses incurred after January 20 of this year. They will help ease some of the financial stress and burden.
While this is a new service – FEMA is reporting that scammers are already offering to register people for funeral assistance. FEMA has NOT sent any such notifications and don’t contact people before they register for assistance.
Who is Eligible?
To be eligible for funeral assistance, you must meet these conditions:
- The death must have occurred in the United States, including the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia.
- The death certificate must indicate the death was attributed to COVID-19.
- The applicant must be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien who incurred funeral expenses after January 20, 2020.
- There is no requirement for the deceased person to have been a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien.
If you had COVID-19 funeral expenses, we encourage you to keep and gather documentation. Types of information should include:
- An official death certificate that attributes the death directly or indirectly to COVID-19 and shows that the death occurred in the United States, including the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia.
- Funeral expenses documents (receipts, funeral home contract, etc.) that includes the applicant’s name, the deceased person’s name, the amount of funeral expenses, and the dates the funeral expenses happened.
- Proof of funds received from other sources specifically for use toward funeral costs. We are not able to duplicate benefits received from burial or funeral insurance, financial assistance received from voluntary agencies, government agencies, or other sources.
https://www.fema.gov/disasters/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance
