Illinois · Cook County
Cook County is home to about 5,182,617 people. Everything below applies county-wide.
If you cannot afford burial or cremation in Cook County, call the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office first, before signing anything with a funeral home. If the person was a veteran, free burial benefits may cover even more.
Step 1 of 5 · If money is tight
Do not sign anything with a funeral home before you call. In many counties, signing first disqualifies the family.
Cook County program
Read this before you call
This program can only help if the Medical Examiner's Office examined the person who died. If the body is already in the care of a funeral home or a hospital, Cook County cannot extend this assistance. Call before you release the body to anyone.
For families who cannot finance disposition within 30 days of death. The county runs an indigent investigation to confirm that available funding avenues have been exhausted.
Time matters here: The Medical Examiner's Office holds a decedent for 30 days while the family finds funding and makes arrangements. Apply inside that 30 day window. Unclaimed decedents are cremated at county expense within 60 days of admission.
What it pays, what you pay
A fee set by county ordinance applies to retrieve the cremated remains. If the legal next of kin cannot pay and provides documentation of financial hardship, the fee can be waived at the Medical Examiner's discretion.
Cremation only, with an opportunity to retrieve the cremated remains within one year.
Email the Indigent and Family Services Manager at meofamilyservices@cookcountyil.gov to start the indigent investigation.
Step 2 of 5 · If they served
This can replace the county program
You may be able to skip the county program entirely. Veterans can receive a free gravesite, headstone, and perpetual care at a national or state veterans cemetery, plus a VA burial allowance of up to $2,000 for service-connected deaths.
Veteran burial help in Cook CountyFrom our free tools
Housing costs weighing on the family too?
Check what housing assistance the household may qualify for, including Section 8 vouchers, in a few minutes. Free, no signup.
Check housing help at CheckMyVoucher.comStep 4 of 5 · The paperwork
Where copies come from
Certified copies come from the Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Vital Records, or the county clerk where the death occurred (official site). Go through the county clerk if you can. The state office costs $19 for a full certified copy but takes about 12 WEEKS to process, which is far too slow for settling accounts. The county clerk where the death occurred is the practical alternative and fees vary by county. The state office is at 925 E. Ridgely Avenue, Springfield, IL 62702-2737, checks payable to Illinois Department of Public Health. You need the completed application plus a readable, unexpired government photo ID.
Order about 10 certified copies. Banks, insurers, Social Security, vehicles, and property will each want one.
Know your rights
Federal law (the FTC Funeral Rule) protects you. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
Full rules: the FTC Funeral Rule. If a funeral home breaks them, you can report it to the FTC.
Step 5 of 5 · If you need more
Where families find the rest
Right now
Nothing else on this page matters until these are done. Everything not on this list can wait, and most of it should.
Local sponsor
Own a funeral home or cremation service in Cook County? This page has one exclusive sponsor spot, reserved at the founding rate of $499 per month.
Sponsor Cook CountyQuestions families ask
Cook County's assistance program (Cook County Indigent Disposition Program) can cover a basic burial or cremation for families who qualify. Call the administering office before signing anything with a funeral home.
Yes. An eligible surviving spouse or child can claim a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment by calling 1-800-772-1213, and monthly survivor benefits are often available too.
Veterans may qualify for free burial in a national or state veterans cemetery plus a VA burial allowance, which can matter more than any county program. See our Cook County veteran page for details.
Most families need about 10 certified copies for banks, insurance, and property. In Illinois, order through the funeral home or the state vital records office.
A traditional funeral with burial commonly runs $7,000 to $12,000. Direct cremation is usually the lowest-cost professional option, often $700 to $2,000, and prices vary widely between providers in the same area, so it pays to call two or three. Every funeral home must give you prices over the phone under the FTC Funeral Rule.
No, and this surprises almost everyone: a power of attorney ends the moment the person dies. After death, authority passes to the executor named in the will, or to a court-appointed administrator when there is no will. Funeral decisions belong to the next of kin in the order set by state law, usually spouse first, then adult children, then parents, then siblings.
For after-death decisions, no. Power of attorney only matters while someone is alive. The next of kin can make funeral decisions right away, and the estate is handled through the will or, without one, through the state's simple next-of-kin rules. See our guide on what happens when there is no will.
Legal help sponsor
Estate or probate attorney serving Cook County? Families here are one week from probate questions. One exclusive spot, founding rate $499 per month.
Sponsor legal help in Cook CountyVerified against official sources
Reviewed by the Final Steps Help research team.
Last verified via official source.
See something outdated? Tell us and we will fix it.
Every step for the first two weeks, personalized to where you are, with the exact numbers to call. Three short emails, then nothing else, ever. No signup, no card, and we will never call you.
Step 3 of 5 · Money owed to you
The Social Security $255 payment
Who can claim it
A surviving spouse who was living with the person who died, or a spouse or child eligible for benefits on the deceased person's record.
Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or visit a local office. You must apply within 2 years of the death. The funeral home often reports the death to SSA, but the survivor must apply for the payment.
Full guide: the $255 death payment, explained