I am writing this while in Loyola Memorial Chapel in Sucat, Paranaque. I am not here just because I want to write this, I am here because I am in a wake of relative close to our family, Uncle Bien. It’s been the second death in our family this October alone, another uncle died earlier, Uncle Joe.
When I was planning on writing “Cost of Dying in the Philippines” few months ago, I planned on interviewing people who recently experience death in the family, little did I know that I don’t need to look outside the family, since our family will have a very close encounter this October.
So, how much does it really cost when you die in the Philippines. Here is the infographic on the Cost of Dying in the Philippines:
Expenses above are usually for 4 days viewing. The more days you extend, the more expensive it gets. The usual price for an extension of viewing is around 5,000 – 25,000/day depending on the type of chapel you like and food that you serve.
When they tell you, “Mahal ang mamatay,” that is often true. You need at least 200,000 for a decent memorial service and burial lot. Of course you can further decrease this if you opted for a cremation and have the urn in your home and not spend in columbarium (a niche to hold a funeral urn).
As you can see in the infographic, it did not include the last hospital bill in case the deceased was still brought to the hospital before dying. The last hospital bill can range from 100,000++ to Millions of pesos, depending upon the extent and gravity of the last confinement. That is whether the deceased was taken to Intensive Care Unit or Emergency Room alone and for how many days?
My advices are:
- Make sure you have life insurance, this would help your family in paying for the: last hospital bills, your existing debts, final expenses (funeral), possible estate tax and provide for your dependents that you left behind.
- Make sure you carefully computed how much life insurance you need.
How much life insurance Do You EXACTLY need? Here is How to Compute
- If you can also buy a memorial plan, the better, because when faced with actual death, you wouldn’t know what to do, believe me, that happened to us few days ago. We didn’t know what to do. Having a memorial plan will help you with the most immediate needs, like: getting the body, preparing the body, and making sure there is the chapel for your departed loved ones. You cannot think straight during the first few hours when faced with actual death in the family. Having a plan saves your sanity and would help you become more organized during those moments that you do not know what to do.
- It’s good to have 1 or 2 plans for each family. You don’t need to get a plan for each family member since memorial plans are transferable. But you also need to consider the size of your family when deciding on this.
- Make sure your love ones know what type of service you would want for yourself. Traditional burial or cremation. I know this is an off topic sometimes but if you can’t bring yourself on telling this to them, include them in your last will and testament if you do have.
- If you are going to choose between life insurance and memorial plan, go with life insurance first. If you have extra money, don’t hesitate to get at least one memorial plan for your family. If you can buy a burial lot now that you are alive, the better because it is usually cheaper if you still do not need it. If not, buying on the spot, when you need it now, will make it very expensive.
Death is a very sad but also an inevitable event that we need to accept. We all end up there, it is just a matter of time.
Planning on something that is bound to happen seems a wise thing to do.
To my Uncle Bien and Uncle Joe, I pray that you will be eternally happy now. We will miss your laughter, your wisdom and love. Pray for us that we continue to support and love each other. We love you.
To all those who have experience death in the family, don’t forget to celebrate their lives this “All souls Day.”
Be prepared always,
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Best Reads:
- How much life insurance Do You EXACTLY need? Here is How to Compute
- Life Insurance, How much is Enough?
- TERM Life insurance, the Cheapest Life insurance Ever!
- 7 Life Insurance Riders You Need to Know that could Save Your Life
- What is Estate Tax and How it can hurt you even After Death? Part 1 of Estate Planning 101
Sources: Loyola Memorial Chapel and Columbarium and Atienza Funeral.
Disclaimer: Other funeral services have also different rates. Provided above are close estimates.
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