Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Indiana

Can reburial of the deceased be a legitimate estate expense/deduction

I am personal representative of an estate in Indiana. The decedent was buried and reburied. I claimed both burial and reburial as expenses/deductions of the estate. The IRS attorney reviewing the 706 said that she would only allow the reburial expense if I could show that reburial expense had ever been allowed. The reason for reburial was: decedent was buried in plot owned by her husband; her husband died 6 months after she did; the executor of husband's estate refused to allow me to put a foundation for a headstone on the plot he now owned unless I dropped a claim of decedent's estate against decedent's husband's estate. I could not drop the claim since I believed it to be a valid one, so I reburied the decedent. I did not want to wait however long it might take to settle the claim to get a headstone for the decedent.


Asked on 1/30/01, 6:17 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mary Ann Wunder Wunder & Wunder

Re: Can reburial of the deceased be a legitimate estate expense/deduction

If your decedent's estate was probated in a supervised administration, then the expense of reburial would have been an expense approved by the Court and there should be no problem with the IRS on the 706. If the probate estate was too small (under $25,000) for probate administration, and you did not retain the services of an attorney to assist you, talk first to the accountant who prepared the 706. If no attorney or accountant was involved, then I recommend that you consult the same immediately to resolve not only the problem concerning the expense, but also the issues resulting from the death of the spouse in such short time which may ultimately impact on your decedent's estate.

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Answered on 3/15/01, 11:16 am


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