Death & Funeral Services? Payments?

Well, I think you are all a bit scared or confused what I am talking about on my blog post here. I just want to share all of you my friends on our experiences when we had a burial services for my mother in law which had happened 2 weeks ago. She died last October 21 and my husband, who is her 2nd eldest son was the in charge in managing all the payments and bills. Of course I am with him helping him all throughout the funeral and burial service.
We actually don't have the money to pay but it was my sister in law, the eldest daughter who paid all the expenses. We had expected that the hospital bill would cost around $2,700 because she had been admitted to a private hospital for 2 days, in a private room, with lots of prescribed medicines, the usage of the oxygen, and she had been transferred to the Intensive Care Unit Room. But we are surprised that the hospital bill only costs around $900. Too far from what we had expected which is $2,700. But as my father in law said, "Even if its too far from what we expected to be the total amount of the bill, they can never turn back and rescue the life our death mother".
However, we faced another payable which is the funeral service from the funeral parlor, a package worth $1,900 and that includes the imbalming of the body and 7 days funeral services where family and friends could visit.
And not only that, we had also spent money for food for relatives and friends, coffee, every night, our transportation and other miscellanous fees. And we are surprised that for 7 days, me and my hubby went out to do the grocery shopping and we usually spent around $50 in 7 days. There are a lot of people coming in for the funeral service that's why we have to occupy them all.
Another thing that we had prepared is the interment services or the place where the body has to be buried. It is another huge payment which costs around $2,025.
The death of my mother in law was really an unexpected death. All of us are really in shock and unprepared for it.
My sister in law who payed all the expenses really had a hard time to provide all the payments.She had made an emergency cash loan so we can pay all the expenses of our mother's death.
She was working and living in the U.S. and because of our mom's death, she has to come home together with her 4 kids. And just imagine how it is so hard to come home without money to pay for the plane ticket and other expenses?
But God is so Good that there are still few good hearted people who helped her and her kids in providing their plane ticket fare back and forth. Though they only have a little pocket money brought here but we are very much thankful to God that they came home safe and sound and had able to attent the burial service of our Dear Mom.
But we had came to know that my mother in law is a member of Social Security System and as we went there to ask for more information, we knew that we can receive a burial payment for the berieved family which was around $1,125.
I was just thinking that it is Not That Easy when somebody of our family will die. Specially when you are not prepared emotionally and the most painful thing, when you are not financially prepared for that.