Estate Bills

• When a person dies, his estate will have to pay any outstanding debts before assets can be distributed to beneficiaries. If the deceased had a will, his estate will go through probate before distribution. During this stage, the executor of the estate will pay the bills. One of the bills that can be paid during this stage is the funeral expenses. The funeral expenses are typically high up on the priority list of bills that will be paid from assets in the estate.
  
  

Guarantor

• The children of the deceased are typically highly involved in setting up the funeral arrangements. During this process, the funeral director will ask for someone to sign for the funeral bill. The person who signs this bill is the one who is ultimately responsible for the debt. This burden often falls on the children of the deceased. The funeral home usually gives the guarantor of the debt up to one month to pay the outstanding bill.
  
  

Reimbursement

• In some cases, one of the children of the deceased will the funeral expenses out of pocket at the time the arrangements are made. When this happens, the child can then apply for a reimbursement from the money in the estate. The child will need to submit a bill to the executor of the estate. Then when the executor gets to the stage where the estate is settled, the adult child can get a check from the assets of the estate.
  
  

Sharing Expenses

• When the funeral home sends the bill for these expenses, some families will share the expenses equally. Instead of having one person pay the whole bill for the parent's funeral, the expenses can be shared between siblings. Some funeral homes will allow you to make payments over the long term so the monthly bill will be more affordable. They may even provide a financing option so that more favorable payment arrangements can be made.