When someone dies the Personal Representatives, either acting as Executors under a Will or as Administrators where the deceased left no Will, are responsible for disposing of a deceased’s body and are entitled to possession of the body for that purpose. My colleague, Charlotte Day, has written a helpful blog regarding funeral costs.

A memorial wish...

In addition to setting out their funeral wishes many people also express clear wishes regarding memorials. It is quite common, for example, for someone to express the desire for a gravestone to be erected or for an existing gravestone (often that of a deceased spouse) to be updated.

Even where a cremation takes place it also common for a memorial plaque to be commissioned or for an existing plaque to be updated through a further inscription being added. Due to the nature of the work involved it can be many weeks or even months after the funeral has taken until the work has been completed to reflect the wishes of the deceased.

Organising a memorial...

The Personal Representatives need to be aware that organising this work is not carried out on exactly the same basis as the funeral. Personal Representatives have a general duty to notify banks of the death. If acting properly and exercising due diligence, then the Personal Representatives will have notified the banks fairly swiftly after the death which generally means the banks freeze the deceased’s bank accounts.

This does not usually pose a problem when settling the funeral account, as many banks will make a payment in favour of the funeral directors in respect the funeral costs.

However, the costs of a headstone or other suitable memorial usually do not arise until after the bank accounts have, quite correctly, been frozen. This may mean the Personal Representatives have to cover the costs of the work (or at least a deposit) from their own personal funds and then recoup the costs from the estate when there are funds in the estate. Often once the Grant of Representation has been obtained, which may be some time later.

The costs involved often amounts to hundreds of pounds which the Personal Representatives, as those commissioning the work, are ultimately liable for.

Accessible funds...

Accordingly, it would be prudent for Personal Representatives to establish whether there are any accessible funds in the estate to pay for the memorial or they run the risk of initially footing these costs themselves. The other point Personal Representatives need to be aware of is that the cost of the memorial will be an additional cost which is separate to the funeral costs. Whilst Personal Representatives are authorised to charge reasonable funeral expenses to the estate to be settled from the deceased’s funds (as set out above) the same principle does not automatically in respect of memorials.

The memorial costs are ultimately paid out of the shares of the beneficiaries of the estate so the cost of the memorial effectively reduces their inheritance. As such Personal Representatives should seek agreement from the beneficiaries regarding the cost of the memorial. In the vast majority of cases beneficiaries (whether family, friends or charities) will be more than happy for a suitable memorial to be put in place at the cost of the estate. However, Personal Representatives who do not seek instructions from the beneficiaries prior to commissioning the work run the risk of having to settle the costs themselves without necessarily being reimbursed by the estate.

For further information regarding later life planning or the role of a Personal Representative please contact Matt Kelly on 01283 214231 or at m.kelly@timms-law.com