Payment of funeral expenses
Members are reminded that practice notes regarding payment for funeral services have been in place for 30 years. Arising from ongoing difficulties receiving payment encountered by its members, the issue has recently been refreshed with the Law Society by the Irish Association of Funeral Directors and the previous practice notes are replaced herewith.
Practitioners should recognise that the funeral expenses are the priority debt payable from the assets of the deceased in each and every estate, irrespective of whether the estate is solvent or insolvent and can be paid before the grant issues.
The committee has been advised that difficulties in relation to payment of funeral expenses occur far more frequently than might otherwise have been expected and that, regularly, accounts for funeral services are being allowed to run overdue unnecessarily. It is suggested that these issues are exacerbated in certain instances by poor communication.
The committee reminds practitioners that, if the deceased left a bank account with sufficient funds to discharge the funeral account, then upon production of the funeral director鈥檚 invoice, it is the practice of most banks to provide a bank draft payable to the funeral director in satisfaction of the funeral account, without requiring a grant of representation. Accordingly, if not already in funds, a request for payment of the funeral account should be promptly made to the bank by practitioners upon receipt of the request for payment from the funeral director. Moreover, if the practitioner with carriage of administration of the estate is already in funds, then, upon receipt of a request for payment of the funeral account, it should be settled without delay.
In the event that there are no liquid assets available to discharge the funeral account until non-liquid assets have been realised following extraction of the grant of representation, or if there is some other difficulty in obtaining the requisite funds from the estate, then this should be communicated to the funeral director, together with an estimate of when payment may be likely. The funeral director should also be provided with the name and address of the legal personal representative(s) in case the funeral director needs to make personal contact with them in relation to the funeral account. Where such difficulties arise, it may be worth considering whether there are other options available to enable discharge of the funeral account pending administration of the estate.
Furthermore, it will often be the case that the funeral director is referred by the relatives of the deceased to the practitioner with carriage of administration of the estate, rather than directly to the legal personal representative, and is therefore dependent on the practitioner for information in relation to the funeral account and discharge thereof.
The committee reminds practitioners that the Law Society has previously agreed with the Irish Association of Funeral Directors that, in cases where a solicitor has neglected to acknowledge an account or give the required information to a funeral director, then the funeral director is entitled to send details to the Law Society for investigation.