Wills & Funeral Costs - Help!!
Discussion
I am hoping for some guidance or reassurance if possible please.
My mother-in-law has written her will and named my wife as an executor. She is pressuring my wife into signing the will however when I was asked to read through it, at no point does it state that there is any money from her estate put aside for funeral expenses. The whole estate is basically her house which will be shared equally amongst my wife & siblings.
My question is how does my MIL expect her funeral to be paid for? Her property would take months to sell after her death with probate etc. and we have voiced these concerns to her. We said that if the worst was to happen tomorrow for example then we are not in a financial position to be able to pay for a funeral (we are aware the costs would be reimubrsed through the estate but that is months down the line) so we've asked what she intends to do about it.
Her response was "oh don't worry, most funeral companies are happy to basically bury/cremate now and pay later, just sign it".
Does anybody have any help or guidance for me on this? It would be greatly appreciated.
My mother-in-law has written her will and named my wife as an executor. She is pressuring my wife into signing the will however when I was asked to read through it, at no point does it state that there is any money from her estate put aside for funeral expenses. The whole estate is basically her house which will be shared equally amongst my wife & siblings.
My question is how does my MIL expect her funeral to be paid for? Her property would take months to sell after her death with probate etc. and we have voiced these concerns to her. We said that if the worst was to happen tomorrow for example then we are not in a financial position to be able to pay for a funeral (we are aware the costs would be reimubrsed through the estate but that is months down the line) so we've asked what she intends to do about it.
Her response was "oh don't worry, most funeral companies are happy to basically bury/cremate now and pay later, just sign it".
Does anybody have any help or guidance for me on this? It would be greatly appreciated.
I've been an executor several times but not for several years now. I seem to recall that funeral costs are regarded as a legitimate expense of the deceased's estate so there is no need to make specific reference to them anywhere. On death, once probate has been obtained, the funeral expenses can be paid by the executors out of the Estate before the net assets are distributed to the beneficiaries. The Estate accounts will identify all the expenses, including funeral costs.
R.
R.
I've been an executor several times but not for several years now. I seem to recall that funeral costs are regarded as a legitimate expense of the deceased's estate so there is no need to make specific reference to them anywhere. On death, once probate has been obtained, the funeral expenses can be paid by the executors out of the Estate before the net assets are distributed to the beneficiaries. The Estate accounts will identify all the expenses, including funeral costs.
R.
R.
ron130888 said:
Mr Pointy said:
Why is your wife signing the will if she is a beneficiary & an Executor? Your MiL should get someone else to witness it.
To be honest I am not sure. The document put in front of us asked for Executor signatures.The Leaper said:
On death, once probate has been obtained, the funeral expenses can be paid by the executors out of the Estate before the net assets are distributed to the beneficiaries. The Estate accounts will identify all the expenses, including funeral costs.
You don't have to wait for Probate - they can be paid straight away. It's pretty well the only thing that can be.The OPs point is that there isn't the money there anway - the only asset is the house. I don't know about Funeral Directors waiting an extended period until they get paid - I can't imagine they'd be keen on that.
Also, as Executor (I've done it twice) I didn't sign anything in advance, when the Will was being drawn up.
Just to clarify my experiences.
I always set up a new bank account in the executor's name coupled with a loan facility. This meant that until probate was obtained I could if I wished (and usually did) pay the funeral bills and other estate administration expenses from this new bank facility. Otherwise the executor has no actual funds to pay expenses, such as for the funeral, until Probate is obtained and then all assets can be used to provide cash as the case may be. The same facility is used to pay probate fees and any inheritance tax, both of which must be paid before probate is granted.
R.
I always set up a new bank account in the executor's name coupled with a loan facility. This meant that until probate was obtained I could if I wished (and usually did) pay the funeral bills and other estate administration expenses from this new bank facility. Otherwise the executor has no actual funds to pay expenses, such as for the funeral, until Probate is obtained and then all assets can be used to provide cash as the case may be. The same facility is used to pay probate fees and any inheritance tax, both of which must be paid before probate is granted.
R.
Just to clarify my experiences.
I always set up a new bank account in the executor's name coupled with a loan facility. This meant that until probate was obtained I could if I wished (and usually did) pay the funeral bills and other estate administration expenses from this new bank facility. Otherwise the executor has no actual funds to pay expenses, such as for the funeral, until Probate is obtained and then all assets can be used to provide cash as the case may be. The same facility is used to pay probate fees and any inheritance tax, both of which must be paid before probate is granted.
R.
I always set up a new bank account in the executor's name coupled with a loan facility. This meant that until probate was obtained I could if I wished (and usually did) pay the funeral bills and other estate administration expenses from this new bank facility. Otherwise the executor has no actual funds to pay expenses, such as for the funeral, until Probate is obtained and then all assets can be used to provide cash as the case may be. The same facility is used to pay probate fees and any inheritance tax, both of which must be paid before probate is granted.
R.
The Leaper said:
I always set up a new bank account in the executor's name coupled with a loan facility. This meant that until probate was obtained I could if I wished (and usually did) pay the funeral bills and other estate administration expenses from this new bank facility. Otherwise the executor has no actual funds to pay expenses, such as for the funeral, until Probate is obtained....
The deceased's frozen bank account can be used to pay funeral expenses - you just send the bill to the bank. You would have to cover everything else though - I guess in a complex estate costs (and time) could mount up. The ones I did were simple and quick, even with a house sale in one of them.ron130888 said:
I am hoping for some guidance or reassurance if possible please.
My mother-in-law has written her will and named my wife as an executor. She is pressuring my wife into signing the will however when I was asked to read through it, at no point does it state that there is any money from her estate put aside for funeral expenses. The whole estate is basically her house which will be shared equally amongst my wife & siblings.
My question is how does my MIL expect her funeral to be paid for? Her property would take months to sell after her death with probate etc. and we have voiced these concerns to her. We said that if the worst was to happen tomorrow for example then we are not in a financial position to be able to pay for a funeral (we are aware the costs would be reimubrsed through the estate but that is months down the line) so we've asked what she intends to do about it.
Her response was "oh don't worry, most funeral companies are happy to basically bury/cremate now and pay later, just sign it".
Does anybody have any help or guidance for me on this? It would be greatly appreciated.
There appears to be some confusion here regarding beneficiaries, executors and witnesses.My mother-in-law has written her will and named my wife as an executor. She is pressuring my wife into signing the will however when I was asked to read through it, at no point does it state that there is any money from her estate put aside for funeral expenses. The whole estate is basically her house which will be shared equally amongst my wife & siblings.
My question is how does my MIL expect her funeral to be paid for? Her property would take months to sell after her death with probate etc. and we have voiced these concerns to her. We said that if the worst was to happen tomorrow for example then we are not in a financial position to be able to pay for a funeral (we are aware the costs would be reimubrsed through the estate but that is months down the line) so we've asked what she intends to do about it.
Her response was "oh don't worry, most funeral companies are happy to basically bury/cremate now and pay later, just sign it".
Does anybody have any help or guidance for me on this? It would be greatly appreciated.
A beneficiary can also be an executor. This is perfectly normal and legal.
A beneficiary (or their wife or civil partner) should not however be a witness to a Will as this removes their entitlement to any inheritance contained within it.
So, your wife can certainly act as executor whilst being a beneficiary as signing as a executor is not remotely the same as signing as a witness.
To address your main point, there are many funeral companies that will cover the cost themselves and recoup these from the Estate after Probate has been granted.
The other answer is perhaps that your MIL may expect the beneficiaries to stump up a tiny fraction of what she is leaving them in order for them to inherit the massively larger sum she bequeathed to them.
I am not making a judgement on this as funeral costs can be unaffordable for many, however if there is an inheritance that covers this whilst leaving more then using a funeral company that will wait for Probate to be paid alleviates all of your problems.
Sheepshanks said:
JulianPH said:
.... signing as a executor is not remotely the same as signing as a witness.
This is the bit, which the OP mentioned too, that I don't recognise. I'm sure I didn't sign either of the Wills where I was named as an Executor.Another thing comes to mind...if she is signing as a witness then she is signing to say she has watched the testator actually signing the Will themselves.
Executors do not have to sign the Will in any way, and shouldn't. A Will is signed by the testator (MIL) and 2 independent witnesses who have to be there at the time it is signed by MIL. Every Will should include an administration clause which makes reference to funeral costs in general but not as a specific figure, just that they are effectively a first charge against the estate. Funeral costs can be paid direct from the bank of the deceased by presenting the bill to the bank and they will pay the funeral company directly. If she is potless then it will be worth letting the funeral directors know this and ask the if they are prepared to wait until the property is sold, it's better to be up front about this to avoid the issue of being chased for funeral costs, it just saves the indignity for all concerned.
After consulting my better half, she works at a funeral shop. Each bank has a bereavement officer so the funeral directors can just send the bill to the bank and funds will be released from the deceased estate. This is dependent on weather the money is there or not. so no need to worry.
alfie2244 said:
Sheepshanks said:
JulianPH said:
.... signing as a executor is not remotely the same as signing as a witness.
This is the bit, which the OP mentioned too, that I don't recognise. I'm sure I didn't sign either of the Wills where I was named as an Executor.Another thing comes to mind...if she is signing as a witness then she is signing to say she has watched the testator actually signing the Will themselves.
Apologies for the resultant confusion!
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