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Is there a fee to have money distributed from the estate to pay for funeral expenses.
Anonymous4 views5 answers
A family member died and we paid for funeral expenses out of pocket, the attorney in charge of the estate states there was money set aside to cover the funeral expenses, however attorney in charge of the estate, states it will cost to much in attorney and legal fees to petition the courts to retrieve the money, He states there is no question we are entitled to monies, just the cost of reimbursing us the money
The Executor of the Estate is in charge, not the Attorney. The attorney should follow the instructions of the Executor who has a fiduciary duty to follow the instructions of the Will. You can likely be reimbursed by Estate in a simple way. Have the Executor pay the reimbursement with an Estate check, and include it in the Accounting that will be due before you Close the Probate.
You may need to file a claim against the Estate in order to protect your right to reimbursement. As mentioned, it really should it be an issue for the Executir to give you a check for the amount paid if you provide a statement from the funeral home defecting the fact you paid the bill.
The only issue might be that the Deceddnt had a pre-paid arrangement. In that case, the Executir might be hard pressed to justify reimbursement.
This should not be a problem. Take the advice of the prior attorneys. Discuss this matter with the executor and demand payment. The attorney works for the executor and the exeutor can terminate the attorney if he feels he is being an obstructionist.
I've got no clue exactly what this attorney is talking about. If the estate has been opened, all you have to do is file a claim with the executor/administrator of the estate. My colleagues are correct in that the executor/administrator is the one who is in charge, not the attorney. The court isn't even involved in this process except if the executor denies your claim and refuses to pay it. DO THIS NOW. There is a 6 month statute of limitations for payment of estate debts, meaning that you have 6 months from the decedent's date of death to file a claim. If you don't do it within that time frame, then payment of your claim is barred. If that amount of time has passed, I would argue that your conversations with the estate attorney amounts to presentation of the claim. If the funds are truly "set aside" for funeral expenses, then that is what they have to be used for. Good luck.
It sounds like you need help with money management. I recommend you talk to Herbert Schechter at Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group. Here is the contact info. Tell them I advised you to talk to them.
Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group,LLC
By Phone: 612-334-2000
By Fax: 612-334-2001
By E-mail: [email protected]
By Mail: 80 South Eighth Street
1902 IDS Tower
Minneapolis, MN 55402
