Funeral expenses and probate

[concerneddtr]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

When my grandmother passed away, her will stated that funeral expenses were to be be paid from her estate. In her will, she also left a life lease on her home to my uncle. The existence of a will was only known by two of her four children and two of her many grandchildren. After the funeral, one sister decided that she would pay for her share of the funeral bill and for the share of one brother. One sister said that she could not pay anything, and my parents were told that they were required to pay for my mother's share and that of the remaining son. The funeral director even drove to their home and said that he wasn't leaving until the bill was paid. After the bill was paid, I told my mother that she should check for the existence of a will to see what provisions were made for funeral arrangements. Upon receipt of the will, we found that the expenses were to come from the proceeds of the estate. The will also states that, in addition to my uncle having a life lease, at the time when he no longer needs the house, the estate will be divided between her children.

Is it legal that the funeral director went to my parents home and refused to leave without the monies for the funeral? Should there be an estate opened in probate even with the will? Was my mother obligated to pay for her share while two of the children were not obligated to pay any expenses? Should a claim be filed to recoup the funeral expenses from the estate?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[anteater]

Is it legal that the funeral director went to my parents home and refused to leave without the monies for the funeral?

Well, yes, is it legal for him to come to the home. And, if he refused to leave when asked, your parents should have called the police.

Whoever actually signed the contract with the funeral home was who owed. If your mother did not actually sign the contract, she had no obligation to pay. Funeral homes do like to get paid, but they are usually willing to cut some slack since they realize that probate may not get opened for a month or so and funds may not be available immediately. How long after the funeral did this little visit occur?

Should there be an estate opened in probate even with the will?

Most definitely. Without probate, a will is really just a piece of paper expressing one's wishes. It isn't legally enforceable.

Should a claim be filed to recoup the funeral expenses from the estate?

Also most definitely. The priority for payment of claims in MI is:

Sec. 3805.

(1) If the applicable estate property is insufficient to pay all claims and allowances in full, the personal representative shall make payment in the following order of priority:

(a) Costs and expenses of administration.

(b) Reasonable funeral and burial expenses.

(c) Homestead allowance.

(d) Family allowance.

(e) Exempt property.

(f) Debts and taxes with priority under federal law, including, but not limited to, medical assistance payments that are subject to adjustment or recovery from an estate under section 1917 of the social security act, 42 USC 1396p.

(g) Reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the decedent's last illness, including a compensation of persons attending the decedent.

(h) Debts and taxes with priority under other laws of this state.

(i) All other claims.

 

[concerneddtr]

The funeral director's visit came about three weeks after the funeral. he is a good friend with my aunt, and they had told him to come to the house to collect because they weren't going to be responsible for any more than what they had already paid.

My mother had NOT signed any paperwork at the funeral home, however my aunt did. My aunt was the only one who signed any of the paperwork.

If the estate were reasonably small with the exception of the house, how does the life lease given to my uncle affect this issue?

 

[anteater]

The funeral director's visit came about three weeks after the funeral. he is a good friend with my aunt, and they had told him to come to the house to collect because they weren't going to be responsible for any more than what they had already paid.

My mother had NOT signed any paperwork at the funeral home, however my aunt did. My aunt was the only one who signed any of the paperwork.

Strictly speaking, your aunt would be responsible for paying the funeral home and your mother could have told the funeral director to buzz off. But, that would have touched off a family war and it is water under the bridge now.

If the estate were reasonably small with the exception of the house, how does the life lease given to my uncle affect this issue?

It isn't clear what you mean by "this issue."

By "life lease," I assume you are speaking about what would normally be called a life estate. In other words, the will says something like, "I leave my house at XXX to all my children equally, but my child William shall be permitted to use the property during his lifetime...." Right?

If the value of the assets other than the house is not enough to pay the expenses of probate and the funeral expenses, this is a potentially ugly situation. Creditors of the estate are entitled to be paid before beneficiaries receive anything. And 1) your mother and your aunt are actually creditors of the estate; 2) "anything" includes your uncle's life estate. Theoretically, your mother and/or your aunt could force the sale of the house in order to reimburse what was paid for the funeral.

In any event, urge your mother and, if possible, your aunt to open probate and get this done properly. Some families try to do the "we'll just let the house remain in grandmother's name and let Uncle William live there" thing. This just creates headaches down the road.

The Michigan Bar has an introductory publication about probate at:

http://www.michbar.org/probate/publications.cfm

 

[justalayman]

here is a link to a specific county in MI. It should be applicable to all counties (with very little variance, if any) since the laws of probate are based in state statute. There is a very nice and easy to follow navigation of the information provided on the right of the page.

EPIC

If you click on the EPIC page, there is a wealth of info that many will ignore due to not understanding that the term EPIC is simply an acronym for:

ESTATES AND PROTECTED INDIVIDUALS CODE

which is the section of MI code that controls probate of estates.

a link to the actual statutes if you care to read them:

Michigan Legislature - Act 386 of 1998