According to the annual Cost of Dying Report by SunLife, the average cost of a funeral in the UK has risen, while the average cost of dying has reached a record high.

How much does a funeral cost in the UK in 2024?

SunLife’s annual Cost of Dying Report for 2024 shows that the average cost of a UK funeral in 2023 was £4,141, an increase of 4.7% since 2022.

To calculate the £4,141 figure, SunLife defines basic funeral costs as including fees for:

• cremation or burial
• funeral director
• limousine
• mid-range coffin
• doctor
• minister or celebrant

Burials are still the most expensive funerals in the UK, costing £5,077 on average. This is up by 5.9% when compared to last year. Average cremation costs were also up by 3.3% at £3,795, but direct cremation costs were also down by 0.9%, now costing £1,498 on average. A new addition to the 2024 report, direct burials cost £1,657 on average.

According to the report, of funerals in 2023:

• 53% were cremations
• 27% were burials
• 20% were direct cremations

Once again, London is still the most expensive place have a funeral, costing £5,171 on average despite a slight drop cost when compared to the previous year. Unlike last year, when only two regions saw price rises, most areas in the UK have higher average funeral costs in 2023. Only London, North West England and Northern Ireland have seen a drop. Northern Ireland remains the most affordable place to have a funeral in the UK, with the average funeral costing £3,256.

What is the cost of dying in the UK in 2024?

The 2024 report shows that the total cost of dying in the UK is £9,658. The cost of dying includes:

• the funeral – average cost of £4,141
• professional fees – average cost of £2,749
• send off fees (such as memorials, deceased estates notices, flowers, catering for the wake etc) – average cost of £2,768

The 2023 cost of dying was up 5% from 2022.

How do people pay for funerals in 2024?

According to the report, 70% of people make provisions specifically to pay for their funeral before they pass away but only 54% of those put enough aside to cover the whole cost of the funeral. On average, families have to find almost £2,716 to cover the costs. To do this, of those surveyed:

• 35% took money from savings or investments
• 25% put the outstanding amount on a credit card
• 25% borrowed money from a friend or relative
• 18% sold belongings to cover the cost
• 16% paid the funeral director in instalments
• 14% borrowed money from a loan provider
• 12% applied for a subsidy from government or local authority
• 3% crowdfunded

Over 4 in 10 (44%) people say the cost-of-living crisis impacted how they organised and/or paid for the funeral.

Placing a deceased estates notice in The Gazette

If you are an executor of a will, you are responsible for dealing with any claims against the estate. After you receive a grant of probate, the law recommends you place a deceased estates notice in The Gazette and a local newspaper to find creditors who are owed money by the estate.

A deceased estates notice is an advertisement placed in The Gazette which contains the details of a deceased person and the executor/administrator, so that anyone or any organisation owed money by the deceased person's estate can come forward.

Placing a deceased estates notice demonstrates that enough effort has been made to find creditors before distributing an estate to its beneficiaries (the people who will inherit the estate). This protects the executor from being personally responsible for money owed to any unidentified creditors.

If you don't place a notice and a creditor comes forward after the estate has been distributed, then you may have to pay the creditor yourself.

How to place a deceased estates notice

1. Before you begin: make sure you have at least one of the following:
   • grant of probate
   • letter of administration
   • death certificate
2. Decide which services you want: as well as placing a deceased estates notice, you can also use The Gazette to place an advertisement in a newspaper that is local to the deceased. There is also a forwarding service for deceased estates, which replaces your address with The Gazette's postal box, so all correspondence can be sent on to you while your address stays private. If you do not use the forwarding service, your address will be recorded in the public domain permanently. View The Gazette's price list.
3. Once you're ready to place a notice: create an account or sign in, and then go to 'Place a notice' from the 'My Gazette' dropdown.
4. Complete the form: select which Gazette edition, then 'Personal Legal' and 'Deceased Estates', and fill out the remaining fields, including uploading the required documentation.
5. Submit: submit your notice and check out.

Once the deceased estates notice has been placed, creditors have 2 months and 1 day to make a claim against the estate.

Place a deceased estates notice

See also

The duties of an executor: what to do when someone dies

How to pay for a funeral in the UK

How to pay inheritance tax (IHT)

How much are probate fees?

What to do when someone dies abroad

Find out more

Cost of Dying Report 2024 (SunLife)

Images

Getty Images

Publication date

23 January 2024

Any opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and the author alone, and does not necessarily represent that of The Gazette.