Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Repayment of loan for a deceased person's funeral arrangements

In Nov 2007 a family friend passed away. Previously he made both my mother/myself executors & sole beneficiaries for his estate. When he died he was destitute except that he owned a funeral plot for himself & a second plot w/value of $10,000+. He didn�t however have the $4,400.00 for his funeral costs. My mother didn�t want to be involved in the funeral paperwork. She wrote a check out to me so that I could pay for the arrangements. I did so immediately. A verbal agreement was made that as soon as the second funeral plot was sold this money would be returned to her. At no time did we discuss this as a personal loan to me. I have carried the responsibility for all of the estate duties since his death however my mother has not contributed at all since she knows there�s no money. She also hasn�t offered any help in locating a buyer for the plot because she found out that it�s not easy to find a buyer. She now wants to sue me for the $4,400 rather than the estate since she wrote the check to me. My question is whether she is legally allowed to make me personally pay her the money. I would never have agreed to �borrow� this money & I don�t have the money to repay her but I am still looking for a buyer of the plot so she gets this back.

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