Funeral Expences

VLAD_3

Need advise, my mother died, she and her spouse (my step father) have joint savings, around 10k they were/are in their late seventies. my step father was not aware hat mum had been saving to that extent, as they were on a pension and as far as he knew they were just getting by. he could not organise the funeral himself, so I have done the arangements. Is it fair of me to expect for my mother to have a normal funeral paid out of those savings. Can he refuse to pay for the funeral expences. I beleive he may refuse to pay the bill once it is over (he has he's only familly who maybe advising him that I should pay as I can afford it).What can I do if that happens, the money is not the issue, it is seeing that everyone doe's the right thing that matters.

sarymclary

Hello VLAD,
Firstly, I'm sorry to hear about your mother's death, and offer my condolences to you and your family.

Here's a link to a very helpful and comprehensive thread all about what to do after someone dies: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=344578

It is usual for funeral expenses to be paid out of the deceased's estate. However, it has been known for expenses to go unpaid by families because of disputes over who should pay.

I'm no expert, but presume that if your mother had a will and there were executors named, then they are responsible for ensuring all creditors are paid from your mother's estate. If there isn't a will, since your step father and mother had joint accounts the joint accounts will transfer into his sole name, and he should be able to draw funds from them to pay any bills.

It would be usual for a spouse to pay for a spouse's funeral, unless there were financial hardships preventing this. I would point the funeral director's bill in your step-father's direction.

Have a look at the thread for lots of excellent tips about how to deal with all aspects of estates, probate, bank accounts, death certificates, and much more.