Social Security Act 2018

Assistance - Funeral grants

91: Funeral grant: eligibility if deceased person has dependants

You could also call this:

“Who can get help paying for a funeral when someone they depended on dies”

If a person dies and has people who depended on them, they might be eligible for a funeral grant. This grant can help pay for the funeral if the person’s family can’t afford it. You are considered to have dependants if you leave behind a spouse or partner, children you were legally responsible for, or other dependent children aged 16 or 17 years old who you were a parent to.

The funeral grant is available if the cost of the funeral can’t be covered by the deceased person’s assets (after other debts are paid) and their partner’s assets (if they have one). However, the partner can keep a certain amount of money, which is specified in the law.

Also, if the deceased person’s partner is still alive, their yearly income must be below a certain amount. This amount is 52 times the weekly rate set out in the law.

Remember, this grant is meant to help families who might struggle to pay for a funeral. It’s there to support people during a difficult time when they’ve lost someone they depended on.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS31379.

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Part 2 Assistance
Funeral grants

91Funeral grant: eligibility if deceased person has dependants

  1. A deceased person meets the criteria in this section if—

  2. the person is survived by—
    1. a spouse or partner; or
      1. a child or children whom the person is liable in law to maintain; or
        1. any other dependent child or dependent children (whether dependent on the deceased or any other person) aged 16 years or 17 years of whom the deceased person was the parent; and
        2. the person’s funeral expenses cannot be paid from the total of—
          1. the person’s assessable estate before the payment of any other debts; and
            1. the assets, other than non-assessable assets, of any spouse or partner who survives the deceased person in excess of the amount in clause 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 5; and
            2. the annual income of any spouse or partner who survives the deceased person is less than 52 times the appropriate amount in Part 2 of Schedule 5.
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