Family assets
Can the brother of a deceased person who has a living wife make all the funneral arrangements transfer the body to another state for burial and then request the wife pay for the funneral with funds left in an account at a nursing home?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Family assets
The surviving spouse has legal authority to do all of these things, not the brother. If the brother took on these responsibilities he probably already paid the funeral home from his own pocket and is now looking for reimbursement. If the funeral home wasn't paid, then they definitely have to get paid from the remaining funds. Whether the burial took place in NY or in another state it doesn't make a difference. The problem here is that the brother may have done all this without the wife's consent, and as a result costs were increased beyond what they would have been in New York. This is a messed up situation and something is not right. The funeral home wouldn't have surrendered the body to the brother without the surviving spouse's consent. Something is wrong with the facts here.
Good luck.
Rick Bryan
New York, NY
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