What happens when someone dies and has no family? Who’s responsible for arranging the funeral? And who pays for it?
If there’s no next of kin or the person was estranged from their family, there are a few things that could happen.
In each example below, we tell you what’s likely to happen and who’s responsible for paying for and organising the person’s funeral. We hope it makes your own circumstances clearer.
Who arranges a funeral if there’s no family?
If a person dies without any obvious relatives, the local council takes responsibility for that person. This is true even if the person didn’t live in the council area.
The council will:
- Try to find out if the person left a will
- Try to locate living family members
- Arrange a funeral, if necessary
If the person who died left a will
The will should name a person to act as executor. It’s the executor’s job to deal with the deceased person’s affairs. This includes arranging a funeral.
If the council finds a living relative
Usually, the council will try to contact living family members to ask whether they want to arrange the funeral. The family doesn’t have to do this if they don’t want to.
What happens if someone dies without a will and has no family?
When someone dies without a next of kin or will – despite efforts to track them down – then the local council takes responsibility for the funeral.
The council can’t refuse to do this. It’s a legal duty, as laid out in the Public Health Act 1984.
Funerals organised by the council are called public health funerals. They’re usually very simple and cover only the basics needed for a respectful send-off.
Who pays for a funeral if there is no family?
This depends on several things:
- Whether the person who has died organised a pre-paid funeral plan
- Whether they left a will
- Whether family members can be found
- The size of the person’s estate (money and possessions)
If the person who died organised a pre-paid funeral plan
Some people choose to pay for their own funeral with a pre-paid funeral plan. This might be so they don’t leave any debt behind or because they don’t have any family left to organise the funeral for them.
This means funeral costs have been taken care of. The person who died has already paid for their funeral.
If the person who died left a will
If there’s a will, there should be a named executor. The executor is responsible for covering the cost of the funeral, but they’re unlikely to pay for all of it from their own pocket.
This is because the executor can use the person’s estate to pay for all or some of the funeral. They’re allowed to use the person’s savings or sell certain possessions to help cover funeral costs.
If family members can be found
If the person who died turns out to have living relatives, these relatives will be asked whether they want to arrange and pay for the funeral.
But what if the person was estranged from their family? Who arranges the funeral if there’s no family member willing to? Does the next of kin have to pay for the funeral?
No. Family members aren’t legally required to pay for the funeral. If the person’s next of kin refuses to cover funeral costs, the local authority will pay for a public health funeral instead.
But before organising the funeral the local council will try to track down other family members to see if they’ll pay for the funeral. This is because a public health funeral is seen as a last resort. It’s only done to make sure that people who pass away without family are still taken care of and treated with respect.
If there’s no executor and no family members
The local council may still be responsible for organising and paying for the funeral in this case too.
If the person who died left any money that could cover their funeral costs the council will be able to recover this later on. Under the Public Health Act 1984, the local authority can recover funeral costs from the person’s estate as civil debt. The local authority must make this claim within 3 years of the funeral taking place.
What happens to property when someone dies without relatives?
If there’s no will and no relatives left to inherit the person’s estate, their money, possessions and property are said to be bona vacantia. This means the possessions have no legal owner.
If nobody claims the estate after 12 years, then it passes to the Crown.
To learn more, read our guides on what to do if someone dies without a will and what to do with belongings when someone dies.
Can you get help to arrange a funeral for someone with no family?
If you’re responsible for arranging someone’s funeral and worried about the costs there may be government grants or support from charities that can help.
