After Heather Waughtel's parent died in July, a family friend loaned the couple about $3,700 for cremation costs after Waughtel's card was declined. Both spouses work full time but live paycheck to paycheck; the parent had cashed out her life insurance policy a week before dying.
About two days after the death, Waughtel and a family friend called the bank, insurers and credit-card companies to close the accounts. The estate was small and insolvent, with some credit-card debt and no inheritance. The roughly $3,700 funeral package included transport from a nursing home, cremation, an ash container, a service and death certificates.
Waughtel said she turned to crowdfunding and still has not scattered the ashes because anxiety about repaying the loan has made it hard to process her grief. She and her husband later attended a wills-and-trusts seminar and reviewed their life-insurance policies to help ensure their four adult children would not face a similar situation.
