Is next of kin responsible when estranged

Fabby.chic

My sons father died. He was found dead in his flat two weeks ago he had been dead two weeks. His sister asked for permission to arrange the funeral and deal with his affairs. We gave her the letter signed by my two sons aged 26 and 19. They made no mention of funeral costs and have arranged it themselves for this Friday. They did not garner opinion and have made no contact with my sons. My eldest had no contact with his dad for four years they didn't even have each other's numbers. The family are insistent my children are next of kin and liable for the 4 grand funeral. Is this true? My children are not even going. Their dad had about a grand in the bank when he died.

tanith

Whoever orders/arranges the funeral is liable for the costs as far as I am aware.

Fabby.chic

His sister had arranged it there are seven siblings but she has a letter giving permission to do so but says nothing about costs

Crabapple

The Estate pays the funeral but by the sounds of things there was nowhere near enough money.

If the sister signed the contract with the funeral director then she is making herself liable for the costs. She didn't need permission from the sons but I don't see how they can be expected to pay for something they didn't have any say in. And frankly, although they aren't cheap you can get a funeral for a good bit less than £4k.

Fabby.chic

Hi thank you for your response I was concerned their was a legal responsibility I don't believe their is.

Errata

As stated above, whoever signs the FD's contract is responsible for paying the FD's bill. This will have been explained to her by the FD, so she can't plead ignorance.
Giving someone the OK to arrange a funeral is simply that, it is in no way an undertaking that others will pay the bill.

Shelldean

just to reiterate what Crabapple and Errata have said it the person who signs the contract with the funeral director who is responsible for paying the bill. No one else will be liable.

g6jns_2

Fabby.chic wrote: »

My sons father died. He was found dead in his flat two weeks ago he had been dead two weeks. His sister asked for permission to arrange the funeral and deal with his affairs. We gave her the letter signed by my two sons aged 26 and 19. They made no mention of funeral costs and have arranged it themselves for this Friday. They did not garner opinion and have made no contact with my sons. My eldest had no contact with his dad for four years they didn't even have each other's numbers. The family are insistent my children are next of kin and liable for the 4 grand funeral. Is this true? My children are not even going. Their dad had about a grand in the bank when he died.

Next of kin has no real legal meaning and there is no legal responsibility whatsoever to pay. Nor have they necessarily got any claim on the £1,000.

getmore4less

What was in the letter they signed?

Mojisola

Fabby.chic wrote: »

Their dad had about a grand in the bank when he died.

That will go towards to the funeral expenses.

As others have said, the rest of the cost will have to be paid by whoever signed the contract with the funeral director.

nom_de_plume

getmore4less wrote: »

What was in the letter they signed?

Exactly this.

The precise wording is important as they may have entered into a contract to pay the bill.