SITB... To clarify, for funerals it's considered Memorial Money unless the family specifically asked for charitable donations to a specific charity (in which case, check made out to the charity and given to the family to give). The idea with memorial money being the money goes to the deceased's family to help pay for any costs relating to the funeral, memorial, headstone, bereavement, unexpected costs, tide over before death benefits, take care of the family in a time of need, masses, etc. instead of spending it on flowers that are going to wither or the family may simply not want.
Especially in cases where the person is young like my cousin's wife unexpectedly passing they didn't have the finances saved up for something like the unexpected cost of the funeral and it took 3-6months for all the insurance money to come through yet things like their mortgage were still due on the same date of the month and the bank didn't care she died leaving him without the second income to pay said mortgage. Memorial money helped give him a chance to keep ahead while his life was upside down. In other cases each of the siblings divided up the money and used it how they saw fit (some donated it to charity, others masses, others did something special to remember the deceased - did something on an "anniversary date" that the deceased considered special, things like kept the birdfeeders full, went to dinner at the deceased's favorite restaurant as a family, etc.).
I'm overall not a "Cash gift giver" SNS. Cash gifts just aren't my thing except at funerals. If I know the couple well enough to be invited to their wedding I know them well enough to put a "No matter how many you've got you'll go through it/use it" type gift together for them. Otherwise I hand it over to DH, who will give their request due consideration to the tackiness level of the cash request.
SITB
Are cash gifts at funerals a thing? (Not judging just curious.) If it’s a Catholic wake I bring a Mass card, which did cost a small amount of money, but I’ve never given cash to the grieving family. I’ve also visited with food, which again cost me money to purchase (and time to prepare), but not a “cash gift”. I’m just intrigued..
My MIL, who understood how an unexpected death could strain a family's finances, always put money in her sympathy cards and placed them in the card basket near the guest book. She was grateful to those who helped her out when her husband passed away and wanted to pay it forward.
Depending on the circumstances, I either make a memorial donation to the charity listed in the obituary, or I put cash in the card and bring it to the funeral. The family can use it however they wish.
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