It is extremely common for one family member to pay expenses immediately after a parent's death.
The funeral home needs payment. The house still has utilities. Insurance needs to remain in force. Taxes become due. Someone may have to arrange a cleanout, secure the property or pay an emergency expense before the executor has access to estate funds.
If you paid those expenses personally, you may be wondering: Can the estate pay me back?
Do not assume it simply comes out of your inheritance
A legitimate expense paid on behalf of the estate should ordinarily be identified separately from the beneficiary's inheritance.
Consider a simple example. Three children are equal beneficiaries. One child advances $6,000 for legitimate funeral and property expenses. Simply dividing the remaining estate into three equal pieces without considering the advance can cause the child who paid the expenses to bear a cost that benefited the entire estate.
What expenses commonly arise?
Examples may include funeral and burial expenses, property insurance, utilities, municipal taxes, emergency repairs, necessary maintenance, appraisal costs and other reasonable estate expenses. Whether a particular payment should be reimbursed depends on the circumstances.
Send the records early
This is an area where clients can materially simplify the administration themselves.
If you paid expenses for an estate, provide the executor or estate attorney with the records before final distributions are being calculated. Useful documentation includes the original invoice, proof that you personally paid it, a receipt, the date paid and a short description of the expense.
Where a family member paid numerous expenses over time, a simple spreadsheet accompanied by the supporting documents can be particularly helpful.
Several family members may have separate advances
There is nothing unusual about different siblings having paid different expenses. Each claimed advance can be documented and reviewed before calculating the net estate. That is generally cleaner than family members attempting to adjust one another's inheritances informally.
What if the estate cannot afford everything?
A different analysis is required when the estate has insufficient assets to satisfy every debt and expense. Rhode Island law establishes payment priorities. An executor should therefore not simply reimburse whichever family member asks first.
Raise the issue before the checks are written
One of the avoidable sources of delay in estate administration is learning about significant family advances only after the proposed distribution has already been calculated. The earlier the expenses are identified and documented, the easier it is to incorporate them into an accurate accounting.
Read: What Expenses Can an Executor Reimburse From a Rhode Island Estate?
Read: Selling a House During Probate in Rhode Island
Speak with a Rhode Island probate attorney
Attorney Mark C. Hamer assists executors, administrators and families with probate and estate administration throughout Rhode Island from his Providence office.
Learn more about Probate & Estate Administration or contact Mark to discuss the circumstances of an estate.
Official sources
- Rhode Island General Laws, Title 33 — Probate Practice and Procedure
- Rhode Island Secretary of State — Probate Forms
This article provides general information only and is not legal advice.