Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Reimbursement questions for Probate Case

You should be reimbursed for funeral expenses, but may be required to submit a claim. You are probably not entitled to be reimbursed for shipping. Your sister should be paying a fair rental value to the estate for living in the house. The estate pays the insurance, not the beneficiaries.

Re: Reimbursement questions for Probate Case

You are entitled to reimbursement for the funeral expenses, but you need to submit a "creditor's claim" to the executor and file it with the court within the four-month creditor claim period to be safe.

The shipping costs are usually paid by the beneficiary, unless the will states otherwise, or the executor offers to pay them.

The house insurance should be paid for by the estate, if it has money available. Otherwise, you can agree to split the costs, but it's the estate's (executor's) responsibility first. The executor should also be paying fair market rent value (or something close) for living in the house--the court will require this unless the beneficiaries of the house all agree otherwise.