Financial help if someone dies

Help with funeral and burial costs

You might be able to get money to help with the cost of a funeral if you’re:

• the partner, child, parent or guardian of the person who died, or
• arranging the funeral of someone with no close family.

The amount you can get is dependent on:

• whether the person who died was your partner or child or not
• how many assets they had (and you have, if you’re the partner or child)

Funeral grant — Work and Income

The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) can also help with the cost of the burial or cremation of someone who’s died after an accident.

Help to pay for the funeral — ACC

Help with living expenses

If the death of a loved one makes it hard for you to meet your living costs, Work and Income might be able to help.

Check what you might get — Work and Income

If the person died in an accident

If you’re a partner or dependent of someone who died following an accident, you may be entitled to a one-off, tax-free payment.

One-off payment for partners, children and other dependants — ACC

If someone’s been financially supporting you and has died from an accident, you may be able to get weekly compensation. How much you get depends on how much the person who died earned.

Paying for the loss of income — ACC

If a parent of a child aged under 14 dies because of injury caused by an accident, you may be able to get help with childcare payments for up to 5 years.

Financial help for children of the deceased — ACC

If the person was a war veteran

If your partner has died from disabilities caused by a war or other emergency they served in, you may be entitled to financial help.

Surviving Spouse or Partner Pension — Veterans’ Affairs

Dependent children of veterans who’ve died may be able to get the Children’s Pension.

Children’s Pension — Veterans’ Affairs