Take care of any unpaid funeral expenses

1. See the “figure out what debts I need to pay” page to confirm you need to pay. Usually, funeral bills are the second debts that you are obligated to pay from the estate though.

2. You can use the money from the estate to pay for the funeral. Ask the funeral home to bill the estate for the costs instead of writing a check immediately.

3. If the estate has less money than debts, funeral expenses will be some of the first things owed (usually after medical expenses). You also may be obligated to pay yourself if the funeral home made you sign a contract that says that you will personally cover the funeral if the estate doesn’t have enough money.

4. If it is difficult, the funeral home may be able to work with you to delay the bill or do installment payments.