Want to buy one award ticket, and one paid ticket, on intl flight to see a parent. Parent may die before we take the trip, and there would be no reason to go there ever again if that happened.

I am reading the fare rules, and can't decode what it means by a potential waiver of fees in the case of a death in the immediate family. Does this mean just that I would have no fee to CHANGE a reservation, but I couldn't get a refund of this ticket? What about for award travel? And does anyone know of any time restrictions on the relationship of the death to the travel?

Thanks. Obviously a fully flexible fare would be ideal, but it's not financially feasible.