Your father dies on a Tuesday. The funeral home wants a deposit by Friday.
The estate has money. It is just locked behind a probate process that has not even started yet.
So you are left with a brutal question at the worst possible moment: who is supposed to pay for this?
The short answer is that the estate pays for the funeral, and Michigan law puts funeral and burial costs at the very top of what an estate owes. The catch is timing. Probate can take months to open, and the bill is due now.
Here is how funeral costs actually get paid in Michigan, who fronts the money in the meantime, and what happens when there is not enough.
First, the Good News: Funeral Costs Come First
When an estate cannot pay everyone, Michigan does not pay creditors in the order they show up. It follows a strict priority list set by MCL 700.3805.
Funeral and burial expenses sit in second place on that list. Only the costs of administering the estate itself, such as court fees, come ahead of them.
That means the funeral gets paid before the credit cards. Before the medical bills from the last illness. Before almost every other debt your loved one left behind.
Here is the full order an estate follows when it cannot cover everything:
- Costs and expenses of administration
- Reasonable funeral and burial expenses
- Homestead allowance
- Family allowance
- Exempt property
- Debts and taxes with federal priority, including Medicaid estate recovery
- Medical and hospital expenses of the last illness
- Debts and taxes with priority under other Michigan laws
- All other claims
Even when an estate is drowning in debt, Michigan law pays for the funeral before it pays the credit card companies.
But the Estate Does Not Open Overnight
Here is the problem. “The estate” is not a bank account someone can hand you a card for.
Before anyone can legally spend estate money, the probate court has to appoint a personal representative and issue Letters of Authority. That often takes a few weeks.
Funerals in Michigan typically run $7,000–$15,000, and most funeral homes want a deposit up front. So in real life, one of three things happens.
Who Pays in the Meantime
A family member pays out of pocket. They keep the receipts and get reimbursed from the estate later.
The funeral home waits. Many will bill the estate or set up a short payment plan once they know probate is coming.
The money comes from outside probate. Life insurance, a payable-on-death account, or a prepaid funeral plan can cover the cost right away.
How to Get Paid Back If You Covered It
If you fronted the funeral cost, you have not lost that money. You hold a claim against the estate, and it sits in that same second-priority spot.
To protect it, do three simple things.
Keep everything. Save the itemized funeral contract and every receipt.
Pay a traceable way. Use a check or card, not cash, so there is a clear record.
Make your claim. Present it to the personal representative once one is appointed.
One limit to know. The law reimburses reasonable funeral and burial expenses. An unusually lavish funeral can be challenged, and the estate may cover only what a court considers reasonable for its size.
Money You Can Reach Before Probate Even Starts
The phrase “tied up in probate” really means the probate estate: the assets that pass under the will and need court involvement. A lot of money often skips that process and is available within days.
Assets That Skip Probate
Life insurance. A policy with a named beneficiary pays straight to that person, not the estate. It is usually the fastest cash available.
Payable-on-death and joint accounts. These transfer to the survivor automatically. Be careful, though: reaching an account does not always mean the money is yours to spend, especially if it belonged partly to someone else or is needed for a higher-priority claim.
Prepaid funeral plans. If your loved one prepaid, the arrangements are already funded and there may be little left to pay.
A funded living trust. Assets in a revocable living trust sit outside probate. If your loved one set up that kind of estate plan, the successor trustee can usually pay funeral costs without waiting on the court.
The Allowances That Get Money to the Family Fast
Michigan law also carves out money for a surviving spouse and certain children, right off the top of the estate and ahead of creditors. They exist so a grieving family is not left with nothing.
Homestead allowance. A base of $15,000, adjusted for inflation, under MCL 700.2402.
Family allowance. Reasonable support during administration under MCL 700.2403, paid in a lump sum or installments.
Exempt property. Household goods, a vehicle, and personal effects up to a base of $10,000 over any liens under MCL 700.2404.
All three jump ahead of general creditors, behind only administration costs and the funeral itself. For many families, this is the bridge that covers the funeral while probate runs its course.
What If There Isn’t Enough to Cover the Funeral?
Sometimes the estate simply cannot cover the funeral. A few things matter here.
Who Is Personally on the Hook
Whoever signs the funeral contract owes the bill. That is an agreement between you and the funeral home, separate from the estate. How you sign matters, so be deliberate: signing as personal representative is not the same as signing in your own name.
You do not inherit your parent’s debts. Adult children are not on the hook for a parent’s credit cards or medical bills just for being family. One narrow exception: when a small estate is transferred without full probate, heirs can stay liable for the decedent’s debts for a limited time, up to the value of what they received.
When the Estate Is Truly Insolvent
A living trust is the backstop. Under MCL 700.7605, if the probate estate falls short, the trustee of the revocable trust must pay enforceable claims, funeral costs included.
Limited state help exists. For families who meet strict income limits, Michigan offers modest burial or cremation assistance through its emergency relief program. The amount is capped, but it is worth asking about when there is truly nothing else.
Why Probate Takes So Long in the First Place
Probate moves slowly by design, not by accident.
Once a personal representative is appointed, Michigan requires published notice to creditors, which opens a four-month window for claims under MCL 700.3801.
A careful personal representative waits out part of that window before paying lower-priority debts. Pay the wrong creditor too early, and the representative can be personally on the hook.
A straightforward Michigan probate generally runs $10,000–$15,000, once you add the roughly $175 to open the estate, the tiered inventory fee, attorney fees, and publication. The funeral, again, gets paid ahead of nearly all of it.
The mistake we see most often is a grieving family quietly draining a joint account to cover the funeral, only to learn the money was needed elsewhere or belonged partly to someone else.
Frequently Asked Questions About Funeral Expenses and Michigan Probate
Yes. Funeral and burial expenses are a top-priority claim and do not have to wait until the estate closes. Once a personal representative is appointed, the estate can pay or reimburse reasonable funeral costs, and the trustee of a funded revocable trust can often pay even sooner.
Only if you signed the funeral contract in your own name. The person who signs the agreement owes the funeral home. You are not responsible simply for being a relative, and you can be reimbursed from the estate for reasonable expenses you advance.
Keep the itemized funeral contract and proof of payment, then present a claim to the personal representative once one is appointed. Reasonable funeral and burial expenses are reimbursed ahead of almost every other estate debt.
A funded revocable trust may have to cover the cost, and life insurance or a prepaid plan may already provide funds. For families with very limited income, Michigan’s emergency relief program offers limited burial or cremation assistance.
Life insurance with a named beneficiary pays directly to that beneficiary, outside probate, and is often the fastest way to cover funeral costs. It is not held up by the estate, though the beneficiary is not legally required to spend it on the funeral.
Speak With a Michigan Probate Attorney
Losing someone is hard enough without a fight over who pays for the funeral.
At Boroja, Bernier & Associates, we help families move through Michigan probate the right way, so funeral costs, allowances, and creditor claims are handled in the correct order and no one is stuck with a bill they should not carry. We serve families in Macomb County, Oakland County, Wayne County, and throughout Southeast Michigan, Central Michigan, and Mid-Michigan.
Before you front a single dollar, schedule a consultation with the Michigan probate attorneys at Boroja, Bernier & Associates, or call (586) 991-7611.
About the Author
This article was written by Daniel Boroja, Esq., a partner at Boroja, Bernier & Associates PLLC, admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 2013 (Bar No. P77079) and focuses his practice on estate planning, probate and trust administration, and elder law and Medicaid planning for Michigan families.
