Caring Lady Independent Funeral Director - Where You Are At the Heart of What We Do
Funded Funerals
Amanda-Louise Lady Funeral Director offers support to families on low income or claiming benefits across Somerset and Devon so they can access funds to pay for a funeral
Help Towards Paying For a Funeral
Here at Amanda-Louise Funeral Director Services we have experience in working alongside the DWP (Department of Works and Pension) who offer financial assistance to those on low income or claiming benefits. We can help you with the process with the DWP and discuss how much you are likely to receive towards the funeral costs to alleviate some of the worries faced when someone close to you has died.
We welcome everyone into our funeral directors home. We'll bring the person who has died into our peaceful setting to be cared for until their funeral, provide a simple coffin in readiness for their cremation or burial, we can change their clothing or provide ability to spend time with them if that's important to you before their funeral, provide an alternative vehicle to convey them to their funeral, and can collect their cremated ashes (where appropriate) on your behalf. And importantly as a lady funeral director, you will receive our wrap around focus on planning the arrangements and bereavement advice, supporting everyone when they need us the most.
Being transparent in everything we do is important to us. So its worth mentioning there are no guarantees every application to the DWP will be successful (its criteria based), or that the monies will cover all that you wish to plan for, so we will make arrangements with you to pay for the cost (or remaining costs) of the funeral.
To give you an idea, the Social Fund may make a contribution towards the cost of a simple funeral within the UK. This includes:-
- Bringing the body home if the person died away from home but within the UK
- The Death Certificate
- A standard coffin
- The Hearse for the coffin and bearers
- Flowers from the person who arranged the funeral
- Contribution towards the fees of funeral director
- Chaplain and organist fee for simple funeral
- Cemetery fee or Crematorium fee
- Doctor’s fees
Talk to your caring lady funeral directors at Amanda-Louise to support you every step of the way on telephone 07879220046
More Services We Offer
Can't find what you are looking for?
Whether you want to talk through our funeral services or need help choosing from our range of funeral products. Get in touch with us today.
More services we offer
What to expect from us
The enduring strength of women
We care for you and your family
As your Lady Funeral Directors, Amanda-Louise can meet you in the comfort of your own home, or in our peaceful office, or via video call if you'd prefer. We will never tell you how 'things should be done', or rush you, but support you to understand and consider your choices, so that you can decide what is right for you and your family and friends.
We will listen to you, and can help you plan a funeral ceremony. We'll respect your personal beliefs, values and culture and ensure your requirements, and those of the person that has died, are reflected in the funeral. You may prefer a religious funeral, a more secular service or might want to include a number of different religious and spiritual perspectives within the same service.
We can help you to reflect on the life of the person who has died and enable you to create some positive memories to support you at a time when people can often feel sad and alone. We can support you to have a farewell that you desire - so we will support you to understand the wide range of options such as visual, musical, floral, donations, readings/poems for example, as well as organising venue and/or hospitality for your after funeral wake or reception, if you wish.
Importantly, we will be flexible to your needs and wishes and give you our time to help put your ideas into action. You can take as much control as you like. We are able to support families from across Somerset or Devon, are not regionally restricted, we can help you create an event at a time and place that is best for you.
Amanda-Louise Funeral Director, can also personally deliver a heartfelt celebrant led service on your behalf should you wish, or we can recommend other talented professional ceremony leaders including religious ministers, celebrants and humanists.
We work hard to support the wellbeing of every family we support (adults and children).We can also provide a wealth of practical bereavement information for adults and children, and we'll ensure the funeral is meaningful for you, which helps in coming to terms with loss too.
We care for the person who has died
In our care you have trusted us to look after your loved one and we take enormous pride in treating people with respect and dignity. From the very moment the person who has died comes into our care, to the moment they leave, we will treat them with compassion, kindness and consideration. We see this as part of the cycle of life
We reach out and support people from 15 to 50+ miles away from us, as we safely transfer the deceased into our facilities. We'll care for the person entrusted into our funeral home with compassion and dignity, and treat everyone as guests in our home. Or we can assist if you prefer the deceased to remain at home or liaise with a repatriation company for deaths abroad.
We provide a comprehensive range of coffins in different materials, including coffin accessories to suit all tastes. This is a very personal choice, so we happily talk about them or can show you the differences.
We can provide the ability for family to spend time with their loved one, and to change clothing if this is important to you. Plus you can be involved in as little or as much of their care as you desire. We will gently prepare them for their funeral following your wishes including hairstyles or makeup, and whilst we do not routinely embalm we can provide this if you desire. We’ll take great care of any person effects, and give them to you ,or they will remain with the person Plus we can arrange for your items to be placed in the coffin if you wish.
We can even support you to keep your loved one at home right up until their funeral if you wish.
On the day of the funeral
We understand that attention to detail is really important, from considering the way people enter the service to carefully calculating the journey time.
We can provide our professional pallbearers to convey the coffin. We can help you bear the coffin if that's important to you. We can arrange special routes to the funeral if you wish, or alternative hearses and limousines.
We can arrange to collect family from railway station or airport if helpful.
Some families prefer not to hold the funeral ceremony at a crematorium chapel or in church, so we can support you to have a service in a chosen hotel, hall or alternative venue that is meaningful to you.
Amanda-Louise will be by your side giving you that reassuring presence ensuring everything is going to plan smoothly, and we leave when you are ready for us to go. We can also provide attendance cards so you know who has attended the funeral ceremony service.
After the funeral
We remain connected should you need us. If we collected donations, we will provide you with audit trail so you know they have been forwarded to the relevant people, organisation or charity. We'll collect ashes if that's helpful & deliver them to you. We can arrange for you to scatter them or preserve them if you wish.
We will have spoken to you about the arrangements of the funeral flowers and carried out those wishes. And if required, we can organise graves and headstones to be put in place at a suitable time after a burial or ashes placed.
And we welcome you to stay in touch. Often our clients pop in to talk about how life is treating them, or to attend one of our coffee afternoons as life can be isolating at times following the loss of a loved one. Our kettle is always on, likely biscuits too. Rest assured, we will never stop caring - here for you whenever you need us, wherever you are.
Do you need more help?
"We all felt totally safe opening our hearts to Amanda-Louise and were so impressed in the skills and empathy she has to understand how we all felt."
Funded Funerals
Our frequently asked questions to guide you
"Dedicated to giving you the funeral you deserve & want"
"With my vision on providing wrap-around-care from start to finish. Our team are here to help you with every aspect of planning and organising your funeral needs from the preparation of the body to events and memorial services, I will be with you every step of the way"