Can we use mums money to pay for her funeral / memorial?

martin2345uk

Hi all,
my mum has around £13k in the bank - I’m going through the process at the moment to close accounts and get it transferred to a new account I’ve set up for this purpose. 

Once that is done are we able to just use that money to pay for the funeral, wake and memorial costs? Obviously I’d keep records of what is paid when etc but just wondering if it really is that simple of if there’s some added complication?

We’re a long way below the IHT threshold if that makes a difference..?

Brie

As I understand it funeral costs are normally taken from the estate so the £13k should cover it all quite well.  Obviously records are helpful in case anyone who might potentially inherit can't object.

thegreenone

Yes, if you are executor, you can use that money for funeral etc.  As above, keep records of where the money goes eg if you are still paying bills for a property until it's sold or given back to council/HA.

SevenOfNine

My condolences.

The funeral bill can be sent to the bank to pay from mum's account, or pay it from the new account you're opening. 

I'm not sure about the wake or memorial costs, but I think possibly not if mum has any debts, does she?

martin2345uk

Thanks all - no, she doesn't have any debt, well, apart from whatever the energy bills will be...!

Froglet

SevenOfNine said:

My condolences.

The funeral bill can be sent to the bank to pay from mum's account, or pay it from the new account you're opening. 

I'm not sure about the wake or memorial costs, but I think possibly not if mum has any debts, does she?

I am sure I read somewhere recently that the wake,flowers and the headstone are acceptable,as well as the funeral itself.

Brie

Froglet said:

I'm not sure about the wake or memorial costs, but I think possibly not if mum has any debts, does she?

I am sure I read somewhere recently that the wake,flowers and the headstone are acceptable,as well as the funeral itself.

I would agree with this as there are some places that provide a predominantly all in service that covers these as well.

doodling

Hi,

Who will inherit from your Mum - was there a will or will the rules around intestacy apply?

If all the beneficiaries of your Mum's estate agree then there is nothing stopping you blowing the whole 13k on a serious party.

If however there are some potential beneficiaries who believe that them getting their share is more important than a party then I would be more restrained. It would be fair to pay reasonable funeral costs and reasonable costs for catering for the wake but if you get too extravagant (e.g. a free bar for 500 people at the wake) then you may end up with beneficiaries arguing with you (and ultimately forcing you to pay for the extravagance personally).  The same applies if the cost of an extravagant funeral / wake prevents the debts of the deceased being paid.

Since you've said there are no debts to speak of then the only limit on what you do is what the beneficiaries would be happy with.