Through the Family Lens: how death illuminates the modern family presents findings from research into the UK's Funeral Payments Scheme. The eligibility criteria for the scheme does not accurately reflect complex family relationships or changing definitions of family. Responsibility for funeral costs is decided based on normative views of family that some claimants do not fit. Claimants who want to pay for a funeral but are estranged from other family members risk being denied and saddled with debt. The research concludes that rising funeral costs, cultural unease with death, an emphasis on self-sufficiency over entitlement, and the marginalization of those who cannot afford end-of-life rituals combine to create distress around accessing support.