Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

funeral reimbursment

on the day my deceased mothers boyfriend and myself and brother and aunt went to funeral home to make arrangements, boyfriend paid the bill in full. he didnt want money from us kids. now that i am adminsistrator he is seeking to get money back. he allowed us to remove some items from her apt, but not all. now we can not enter again. wnen i filled out papers it asked if it was paid for i said yes. now what? i feel we are entitled to all her things to settle the matter legally. now it looks like we will have to take him to small claims court. there are people that can testify to the fact we offered, but he refused money. its not a problem in paying him but its not fair that we cant get the rest of her things. by the way he rented the apt the next day after she died. now i have an electric bill that he used the electric for.


Asked on 9/08/05, 10:34 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Andrew Nitzberg Andrew Nitzberg & Associates

Re: funeral reimbursment

My condolences on your loss.

Regarding the funeral expenses, if he offered and his offer was accepted and he did pay - then he has no legal right to reimbursement.

However, this is something available for negotiation. Talk to him. Maybe if you promise to reimburse him then he will give you access to the personal effects.

If he continues to refuse you the personal effects/possessions, then you can get a court order from the Surrogates court ordering him to give you access.

The petition is made on notice and can also be made by OSC. I recommend that you, after the order is issued, that you take it to the local police precinct and ask that an officer accompany you. The best time is in the mid-morning until about 2pm. After that, the police get busy. 10am is a good time to go to the police.

It might be best to have a lawyer draft the petition to thye court for the order to give you access to the apartment. I can help with that.

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Answered on 9/12/05, 2:14 pm
Stephen Loeb Law Office of Stephen R. Loeb

Re: funeral reimbursment

He is probably entitled to reimbursement of the funeral expenses from the estate.

Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can e-mail me for more information about low cost face-to-face, on-line, or a telephone consultation with a lawyer in our office

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Answered on 9/09/05, 10:05 am
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: funeral reimbursment

WHILE HE MADE HAVE MADE THE OFFER, HE MAY BE ENTITLED TO BE REIMBURSED. AS ADMINISTRATOR, YOU HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ENTER THE APARTMENT AND REMOVE THE PERSONAL PROPERTY AND ANYTHING ELSE OF YOUR MOTHER. YOU MIGHT NEED A COURT ORDER IF THE LEASE HAS BEEN CHANGED. THIS IS A SIMPLE PROCEDURE, JUST APPLY TO THE COURT FOR AN ORDER ALLOWING YOU TO ENTER THE APARTMENT AND REMOVE HER BELONGINGS. AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, BE SPECIFIC AND LIST WHAT YOU WANT TO REMOVE IN THE ORDER. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE OF THE SPECIFICS, BE GENERIC. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ATTORNEY ASSISTING YOU IN THE ESTATE MATTER, IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO GET A LOCAL ATTORNEY TO ASSIST YOU IN OBTAINING THE ORDER, AS THERE ARE PROCEDURES THAT NEED TO BE FOLLOWED.

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Answered on 9/09/05, 11:54 am


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