How to Pay for a Funeral from an Estate
Understand the rules in your state., Find out who the executor, administrator, or personal representative is., Find out how much money is in the estate., Check to see if the funeral has been prepaid by the decedent., Pay for the funeral yourself and...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Understand the rules in your state.
The probate process is simply the process of gathering a decedent's assets, paying bills, and distributing remaining assets among heirs under the supervision of the court.
In some states you will need to file paperwork to verify the death, prove that you have notified all creditors and inheritors, and validate the will.
In other states you may need to attend a court hearing.Many states in the United States have adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), which greatly simplifies the probate process in most cases.
Other states have not accepted the UPC, so the probate process may be slightly different.
If the decedent did not have a will, the court will decide how the estate should be divided in accordance with state law. -
Step 2: Find out who the executor
The terms will vary depending on your state and on whether court proceedings are required or not, but regardless of the term, this is the person who is responsible for paying the decedent's bills and distributing any remaining funds in accordance with the decedent's will.
An executor is named in the will, an administrator is appointed by the court in situations where no executor has been named, and a personal representative can refer to either situation.
If you are the executor, you will be responsible for gathering information about the decedent's assets and debts, paying bills (including those for the funeral), and distributing the remaining funds to the heirs., Knowing exactly how much is available will allow you to plan an appropriate service without having to worry about how to pay for it.
Joint bank accounts held by the deceased and others may be accessible through and provide money for funeral expenses.
If you are not the executor of the estate, you will need to work with this person to establish a budget for the funeral based on the funds available in the estate and the other bills that need to be paid.
Keep in mind that if there is not enough money in the estate to cover funeral expenses, the person who signed the funeral contract will be responsible for paying the balance.If there are limited funds in the estate to pay for the funeral, keep costs low by shopping around at different funeral homes, declining costly upgrades proposed by the funeral directors, or considering cremation instead of burial.
If the decedent has other close living relatives, make sure to include them in your decisions., When a party prepays for a funeral, the funds are held by the funeral home in a trust account until the party’s family needs them to pay the funeral expenses.Search the decedent’s estate planning documents, and check with his or her estate-planning attorney.
If the funeral has been prepaid, there will be documentation regarding the prepayment and the trust account.
Check the decedent’s federal tax return records for any 1099 forms reporting interest earned from a trust account.
This may be a clue that a prepaid funeral trust exists.
The 1099 should contain the name of the funeral home holding the account.
Call all of the funeral homes in the area and ask if the funeral expenses have been prepaid.
The funds may not be refundable if not located before the funeral has been held elsewhere.
The decedent may have also set up a Totten Trust, which is a special bank account set up for the purpose of paying funeral and burial expenses.
Check with all banks that your loved one used to see if such an account exists.Even if the decedent did not prepay for the funeral, he or she may have pre-planned with a funeral home, which basically entails selecting the desired services without making a financial commitment.
Be sure to check for any evidence that the decedent planned the funeral so you can stay in line with his or her wishes.
Note: be aware of unscrupulous funeral directors that may try and upset services for either financial or personal reasons. , Oftentimes, the funeral home requires payment long before an estate can be opened and expenses paid from the estate account.
Because of this, the most common way of paying for a funeral from an estate is for the executor to pay the bill and then be reimbursed when the probate proceedings are finished.Submit a receipt to the personal representative of the estate, which clearly shows that you paid for the funeral, and the amount paid.
Include a request for payment.
If it appears at any point that you will not be reimbursed, file a claim against the estate.
In all states, your time to file a claim is limited, and you should act quickly in order to ensure that you receive payment from an estate.
To file a claim, check with the County Clerk’s office.
They should be able to provide you with the proper form and assistance in filling it out and filing it with the Court.
If you are a joint owner on the decedent’s bank account, pay the funeral expenses from the joint account.
As long as you keep a receipt, the payment will be considered an estate expense and not an inheritance. , Most states and funeral homes allow a personal representative to assign a life insurance policy made payable to the estate to the funeral home for payment of funeral expenses.Try to avoid signing over more than the good faith estimate provided by the funeral home.
Funeral directors are supposed to refund the over-payment to the estate, but it is extremely easy for them to inflate the charges and leave the estate with nothing left over.Talk to your funeral director for information on how to assign a policy to the home for payment of the funeral expenses.
Note that the return of any remaining money by the funeral home may be a complicated and lengthy process and in the worst case may require legal action. , After a decedent’s death, creditors may collect payment from the estate by filing a claim with the court.
Claims for funeral expenses are considered priority claims and are paid first, along with final medical expenses and estate administration fees.
Talk to the funeral director and see if he or she is willing to collect payment of the funeral expenses from the estate in this manner. -
Step 3: administrator
-
Step 4: or personal representative is.
-
Step 5: Find out how much money is in the estate.
-
Step 6: Check to see if the funeral has been prepaid by the decedent.
-
Step 7: Pay for the funeral yourself and have the estate reimburse you.
-
Step 8: Sign over any life insurance policies to the funeral home.
-
Step 9: Ask the funeral home to file a claim against the estate.
Detailed Guide
The probate process is simply the process of gathering a decedent's assets, paying bills, and distributing remaining assets among heirs under the supervision of the court.
In some states you will need to file paperwork to verify the death, prove that you have notified all creditors and inheritors, and validate the will.
In other states you may need to attend a court hearing.Many states in the United States have adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), which greatly simplifies the probate process in most cases.
Other states have not accepted the UPC, so the probate process may be slightly different.
If the decedent did not have a will, the court will decide how the estate should be divided in accordance with state law.
The terms will vary depending on your state and on whether court proceedings are required or not, but regardless of the term, this is the person who is responsible for paying the decedent's bills and distributing any remaining funds in accordance with the decedent's will.
An executor is named in the will, an administrator is appointed by the court in situations where no executor has been named, and a personal representative can refer to either situation.
If you are the executor, you will be responsible for gathering information about the decedent's assets and debts, paying bills (including those for the funeral), and distributing the remaining funds to the heirs., Knowing exactly how much is available will allow you to plan an appropriate service without having to worry about how to pay for it.
Joint bank accounts held by the deceased and others may be accessible through and provide money for funeral expenses.
If you are not the executor of the estate, you will need to work with this person to establish a budget for the funeral based on the funds available in the estate and the other bills that need to be paid.
Keep in mind that if there is not enough money in the estate to cover funeral expenses, the person who signed the funeral contract will be responsible for paying the balance.If there are limited funds in the estate to pay for the funeral, keep costs low by shopping around at different funeral homes, declining costly upgrades proposed by the funeral directors, or considering cremation instead of burial.
If the decedent has other close living relatives, make sure to include them in your decisions., When a party prepays for a funeral, the funds are held by the funeral home in a trust account until the party’s family needs them to pay the funeral expenses.Search the decedent’s estate planning documents, and check with his or her estate-planning attorney.
If the funeral has been prepaid, there will be documentation regarding the prepayment and the trust account.
Check the decedent’s federal tax return records for any 1099 forms reporting interest earned from a trust account.
This may be a clue that a prepaid funeral trust exists.
The 1099 should contain the name of the funeral home holding the account.
Call all of the funeral homes in the area and ask if the funeral expenses have been prepaid.
The funds may not be refundable if not located before the funeral has been held elsewhere.
The decedent may have also set up a Totten Trust, which is a special bank account set up for the purpose of paying funeral and burial expenses.
Check with all banks that your loved one used to see if such an account exists.Even if the decedent did not prepay for the funeral, he or she may have pre-planned with a funeral home, which basically entails selecting the desired services without making a financial commitment.
Be sure to check for any evidence that the decedent planned the funeral so you can stay in line with his or her wishes.
Note: be aware of unscrupulous funeral directors that may try and upset services for either financial or personal reasons. , Oftentimes, the funeral home requires payment long before an estate can be opened and expenses paid from the estate account.
Because of this, the most common way of paying for a funeral from an estate is for the executor to pay the bill and then be reimbursed when the probate proceedings are finished.Submit a receipt to the personal representative of the estate, which clearly shows that you paid for the funeral, and the amount paid.
Include a request for payment.
If it appears at any point that you will not be reimbursed, file a claim against the estate.
In all states, your time to file a claim is limited, and you should act quickly in order to ensure that you receive payment from an estate.
To file a claim, check with the County Clerk’s office.
They should be able to provide you with the proper form and assistance in filling it out and filing it with the Court.
If you are a joint owner on the decedent’s bank account, pay the funeral expenses from the joint account.
As long as you keep a receipt, the payment will be considered an estate expense and not an inheritance. , Most states and funeral homes allow a personal representative to assign a life insurance policy made payable to the estate to the funeral home for payment of funeral expenses.Try to avoid signing over more than the good faith estimate provided by the funeral home.
Funeral directors are supposed to refund the over-payment to the estate, but it is extremely easy for them to inflate the charges and leave the estate with nothing left over.Talk to your funeral director for information on how to assign a policy to the home for payment of the funeral expenses.
Note that the return of any remaining money by the funeral home may be a complicated and lengthy process and in the worst case may require legal action. , After a decedent’s death, creditors may collect payment from the estate by filing a claim with the court.
Claims for funeral expenses are considered priority claims and are paid first, along with final medical expenses and estate administration fees.
Talk to the funeral director and see if he or she is willing to collect payment of the funeral expenses from the estate in this manner.
About the Author
Marilyn Long
Marilyn Long is an experienced writer with over 23 years of expertise in lifestyle and practical guides. Passionate about sharing practical knowledge, Marilyn creates easy-to-follow guides that help readers achieve their goals.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: