Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
My son and his sister are heir to an estate that was their fathers. He died with no will. The grandparents made another son , the fathers brother, executor of the estate, not knowing he wasn't & contacted the funeral home & directed the son to make the funeral arrangements for them. The son (kids uncle) signed for the expense for his parents & they wouldn't allow ANY input from the deseased children. Now, since they found out the kids are heirs to the estate ($30,000) they want to bill the estate for the funeral service. We are trying to fight the bill because the kids had no say and had nothing to do with making the arrangements. They are very upset because their dad stated he wanted cremated and varios other points which were not done. Is the uncle responsible since he signed? He found out a week later he has cancer, now they are saying he can't pay. However, he couldn't pay when he signed for it, he did so at his parents request.
1 Answer from Attorneys
What a mess. Funeral expenses are responsibilities of the deceased person's estate up to certain limits (assuming there is not enough money in the estate to pay everybody). So the father's estate is responsible even if the children had no say so.
If the uncle or uncle's son signed, he might also be responsible if there is no money in the estate. If the uncle is executor, then he is the one who needs to handle probate of the estate, paying off the bills and giving whatever is left to your children.
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