Elizondo Family Burial Assistance

Hi Everyone, 

On June 3rd, our beloved mom, Cynthia Elizondo passed away and the task of making arrangements has become a challenge for our family. My late mother had no assets at the time of passing and my brothers have lacked their own capacity to facilitate any part of this process due to a myriad of reasons including: money, disabilities that require caretakers, psychiatric conditions etc. Ultimately, with the circumstances, the responsibilities have fallen on me despite having my own barriers - I am the one best positioned to be able to assist in any way, compared to my siblings.

That being said, it has taken some time to not only digest what has happened but also to jump through significant legal hoops due to the way my families plot for her was set up requiring notarized bloodline signatures, and additional criteria. At the same time, my mom was in the process of eviction at the time of her passing, so my time has been split with managing the additional details of ensuring whatever there may be left of family history is not lost forever. I say this, to explain why now, almost a month later, I am asking for help and have scheduled the arrangements for July 11 - once the bustle of figuring out the logistics and dust of the immediate impact settled, the full reality of funding required set in. 

So far, I have already covered expenses for notaries for my siblings out of my available funds as well as I have lost work hours due to being the sole person coordinating everything (I will also be missing additional work traveling to Michigan to salvage belongings / for the funeral). I am already grateful to have received some assistance prior to starting this GoFundMe, from family, friends and my community, that will help alleviate some of the costs overall. For the purposes of my request, I will outline the total need of arrangements below - including some that has already been expensed (notaries etc.)

Lastly, because of the situation my family is in, I’ve minimized costs as much as possible. My mom is not having a typical service (the word service below is used in reference to services but not an event per say). The fees for arrangement are solely for transport of body, handling by the funeral home, cemetery opening/closing etc. My personal expenses are rough estimates as I don’t have / haven’t booked much yet due to the costs. The final totals will vary but these numbers were calculated by observing rates at the time of this campaigns creation. 

I’m doing my best to honor her in the way she both wanted and deserved, while mitigating the reality of the situation. Thank you in advance for any contribution you may make. Funds donated above the asking total, or in retrospect of spent funds prior to a donation, will be used to help alleviate purchases that have already been made and/or used toward additional burdens of the family. If you would like to donate outside of this campaign to ensure all funds are received by myself (no fees), please reach out directly. 

Thank you

-Josh

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Personal Expenses: ~$3300

• $650 - Flight CA-MI
  
• $500 - Hotel (1 week)
  
• $750 - Rental Car (1 week) 
  
• $800 - Lost Work (existing/future)
• $600 - Shipping / Transport of Mother's belongings
• $120 - Multiple Notaries

CURRENT Burial Plan Total: $7888.50 

• $3950 - basic cemetery service charge from funeral home
• $500 - sheltering fee (storage of body) 
• $995- basic casket
• $900 - minimal grave liner 
• $103.50 - taxes
• $40 - death certificates
• $1400 - cemetery opening and closing cost