Dying With Debts

[bednobs]

i know the position generally but the situation i'm thinking of is the following:
person has around £6k in their bank account, but debts of around 10K.
They would like to be buried rather than cremated. Could you feasibly use the whole 6k on a funeral or does the "funeral expenses come first from the estate" behold you to have something cheaper if they have other creditors?

[Richard1966]

Funeral expenses come first and what left forms the remainder of the estate. debts come from the remainder of the estate. There is no legal duty on the executor to lessen the cost of the funeral but i personally thing they are morally obliged to do so if they know of the debts when making the arrangement. The reality in most situations is that the debts only come to light when the dead persons paperwork is being dealt with and this can happen long after the funeral has taken place.

[Peter Pedant]

Hi Beddie
I am involved in this at the moment

if you google insolvent estates - it does say in the case of insolvency if there are assets of £7k then you shouldnt splash out on a £5k funeral

I am trying to find out if rent arrears are next in line after funeral and testamentary expenses - I am not sure if s26 of the Trustee act 1925 says yes....

remember it is the executors head ache and not that of the next of kin or any onlooker, and in case of insolvency he should seriously think of "no-thank you. " In that case one of the creditors can undertake the task and cost of winding up the estate

Nightmare.

As far as I can see you cant cremate someone for less than £2k

[ubasses]

2. The funeral expenses. These should be reasonable and proportionate to the size of the estate. For example one cannot use £6000 of a £7000 estate on the funeral if there are also debts of several thousands of pounds. A gravestone or other permanent memorial is not considered to be part of the funeral expenses.

The above has been taken from this website.
ww.bereavementadvice.org/probate-and-other-legal-procedures/insolventestates.php
Hope it helps.

[Peter Pedant]

yeah that was the one Ubasses thanks

headstones
and limos - are not countable as funeral expenses in this situation

[bednobs]

What does insolvent mean in these circumstances please? Simply that the debts outweigh assets?

[ubasses]

Yes.