Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

I'm sorry for your loss. Sadly, your father and mother, in saving a few hundred dollars to not drafts wills and powers of attorney, left yoiu with an expensive dilemma.

Absent a will, the only way for someone to access your mother's funds is to become a guardian or conservator. This involves court costs and attorneys fees. Additionally, it may not be proper for a guardian to use the insurance money for the father's funeral rather than use it on the mother.

There are no easy answers and the answers have a cost. You can get a consultation with an elder care lawyer in the area where your mother lives, usually for about $35 or so. I'd advise doing that. Then you can weigh costs versus needed steps.

In short answer, you can't get the insurance money to pay for your father's funeral.

I am not sure what the father's lack of a will has to do with insurance. Insurance is a non-probate asset. If there was a designated beneficiary, then the beneficiary receives the funds.

The problem here is if your mother was the beneficiary. If that is the case, there is no way for her to receive the funds unless she has a guardian/conservator if she is in a bursing home and has been declared to be incompetent.

Even if a conservator is appointed, then the insurance company will pay those funds to the conservator. The funds are to be used for your mother's benefit, not your father's funeral expenses.

Further complicating this is the bankruptcy. If both of your parents were in bankruptcy, I don't know to what extent the life insurance proceeds would be exempt or can be attached by the trustee. The personal representative and conservator will need to consult the bankruptcy attorney about that, but it may be that the proceeds would be exempt.

Since there obviously is not enough assets/funds in your father's estate, claims against his estate are paid out in order of priority. A personal representative of your father's estate will have to be appointed and that person will have to pay the minimum allowed for the funeral as per state law. The insurance money is not to be used for the funeral expenses. That is why your father should have obtained a pre-need or specific policy to handle this rather than life insurance.

There are also nursing home/Medicaid considerations too. Most states have eligibility rules

and your mother's receipt of the funds may render her ineligible if she is on it. In such case, the conservator may wish to speak with an elder care attorney to discuss what can be done with the proceeds and how best to protect them so that they can go for your mother's benefit. I don't know her age, the amount of the insurance or the stage of her Alzheimer's, but it is possible for her to live a long time and you want to be sure she is protected as much as possible.

While I am sorry for the loss of your father and your predicament, there are few attorneys who will take this case pro bono. You are at least going to have to find and pay for a consult with a probate/elder law attorney to discuss your mother's and father's situation and see what the best way forward will be.