Liable bills

What is the name of your state? Kentucky

My sister and I were left my deceased father's part of my granny's estate. My 2 uncles each got a third also. My 2 uncles got my granny's burial insurance. They did not pay her burial with this money. They borrowed the money from a bank to pay for the funeral and some of her bills she still owed. The will states that everything she owed is to be payed for out of the estate. Shouldn't her burial have been paid for out of her insurance even though it was just left to my uncles? And the executor wants us to help pay for the lawyer's fees that he used to get all the legal things taken care of. Are we liable for that? I mean, that isn't my granny's bills. The executor is 1 of my uncles. What exactly is my sister and I suppose to pay for out of the estate on our behalf? I have been told by family that we shouldn't be liable for this bank note since our names are not on this loan. Same goes with the lawyer's fees that my uncle owes his lawyer. Please help me if you can.

Your message is a little bit confusing because you have not mentioned exact amounts (how much is the funeral bill, how much have you received from the estate or how much do you expect to receive, how much is the estate worth, how much are her outstanding bills?).

It looks like the uncles and the executor may be trying to trick you into paying something that you are not responsible for.

The funeral bill is an expense that, according to law, is supposed to be deducted from the estate assets/monies, but since the uncle got the burial insurance, then he is supposed to pay the funeral bill specifically with that money and not spend it on himself.

The lawyer fees are also supposed to be paid for out of estate monies, because it is granny's business affairs/legal affairs that are being taken care of.

You and your sister are not supposed to be asked to pay for any estate expenses, and all you should have to do is sit back and receive your check for your share of what is left over. If there is not enough money left in the estate to be able to pay her outstanding bills, it would be nice if you could afford to pay part of them, but you are not obligated to do that.

These matters should be taken care of by the executor without even consulting you and the only reason I can think of that he would be asking you all to pay is if there is not enough money in the estate to pay for everything. Have you received a check yet or not? If they are asking you to help pay, then they need to show you some type of documentation that shows what the total assets are and what the total debts are and what the attorney fees and executor fees will be, to prove that what they are saying is true.

Executor fees in Kentucky are generally computed at 5%.

DANDY DON

The funeral bill is $7,299.00. I have received $1,600.00 so far from the estate but was told I would receive $3,284.38. The land was appraised at $40,000.00. The bills my uncle says are a total of $10,293.69. That amount includes the funeral cost, will approval, to appear before a judge, recording of the will, intrust on a note at Farmers National Bank, paying off a note she owed at the bank & the lawyer. So my sister and I have an exspense of $3,431.23 to split to pay for these bills so my uncle says. My uncle says he is not going to take the 5% that the executor could get if we weren't going to auction. What do I need to do about not having to pay for the funeral since they got the life insurance that was suppose to pay for the funeral? Do I need to get a lawyer or do I need to confront them first about this insurance? I have not signed any papers. I have only cashed the $1,600.00 check that my uncle gave me. I do not have all of my money yet from the estate that I am suppose to get.

It is very unusual for you to have already received a check from this estate, although it is good for you.

There are still too many unanswered questions to make a determination about what is going on with this estate. You still have not mentioned the total value of the estate, whether the $40,000 worth of land is going to be sold for cash or just left as it is without being sold, and you haven't mentioned how much the burial insurance money was.

Yes you do need to "confront" the executor uncle, but try to remain as polite and as cordial as possible. Ask him to show you an income statement of how he is computing the estate to be divided (in other words, showing a list of the total cash assets and how much they add up to be, and then deducting the total bills to see how much is left over to be distributed amongst the heirs). It would show good faith on his part if he is willing to sit down with you and show you the figures. If he is not willing to do this, then this is somewhat suspicious. After looking at the figures you should know whether or not there are enough assets remaining in the estate to be able to afford to pay the funeral bill or not. If it is true what you are saying about him not wanting to claim the 5% executor fee, then that is truly honorable, but you have to wonder or ask him, have you financially benefited from this estate in any way?

If he won't be cooperative, then you should tell the 2 uncles that "it is your moral and ethical responsibility to use the money you all got from the burial insurance to pay back the bank for the loan for the funeral bill. If you are not willing to do this, then I am going to be forced to report this to the probate court judge and ask him to order that something be done about it." (Ordering the uncles to pay the loan.) The uncles will probably want to avoid being embarrassed in court and will probably go ahead and pay it or at least use estate monies to pay the bill if there is enough left to pay it off.

It would not make much sense to get a lawyer, since that would seem to be an unnecessary expense that you probably can't afford at this time and it doesn't look like there is a reason for an attorney yet.

DANDY DON

I do not know exactly how much the insurance amount was. I do know that she took out a $5,000 policy that drew interest. I do not know exactly what percentage the interest was. By guessing I would say the insurance was worth atleast $7,000 or more. As far as the total value of the estate, the appraiser valued everything on the land and the land at $40,000. My two uncles are going to buy my sister's part and my part of the estate. That's where my sister and I got part of our money from. My grandmother took this policy out in October of 1991. What is the probate court judge? Is this a special type of court that I must go to? Is it different than a Circuit Court? I do not know much about these different things. I really do thank you for your help that you have given me so far.

Does it matter wether this insurance is burial insurance or life insurance? I found out that 2 years ago this insurance policy was worth $6,200. My mom had helped my granny with things like that and read it to her so she would understand her statements she would get from the company concerning her policy. This is a life insurance policy that she had. What is the difference between the life and burial insurance? Or is there a difference?

Burial insurance is usually taken out to help pay for the burial expense, and the policy can be made payable either to a specific beneficiary or most usually, to the funeral home. Life insurance is taken out on the life of a person, and is also payable to a specific beneficiary. Life insurance is considered payable directly to the beneficiaries and is not supposed to be included as an asset in a decedent's probate estate.

Different states name the courts differently that handle wills--most are called probate court, but can also be called surrogate's court, or family court. I don't know what the term is in Kentucky.