Who Pays for the Funeral When Someone Else Caused the Death

In the first days after a death, before anyone has had time to grieve, a family has to plan a funeral. The funeral home needs decisions, and it needs to be paid.

When your loved one was killed because of someone else’s conduct, that bill should not be yours to carry. The person, business or government agency responsible for the death should pay for the funeral, just as they should pay for every other loss they caused.

But the way that payment is requested matters. An insurer may offer to pay the funeral bill quickly, and the paper that comes with the check can end the family’s entire claim.

This article explains how funeral and burial costs are recovered in a California wrongful death case, which sources may pay them sooner, and how to ask for payment now without giving up what the family is owed.

Funeral and Burial Costs Are Part of the Wrongful Death Claim

California law allows the heirs of a person killed by the wrongful act or neglect of another to recover damages that are “just” under all the circumstances. (Code Civ. Proc., § 377.61.) The jury instructions list “Funeral and burial expenses” as one of the economic damages the jury must consider, and the verdict form gives them a line of their own. (CACI Nos. 3921, 3922.) California law “has long allowed the recovery of funeral expenses” in wrongful death actions. (Vander Lind v. Superior Court (1983) 146 Cal.App.3d 358, 364.) The heirs may recover the reasonable value of the funeral expenses they paid or became liable for, and the bill itself is evidence of what was reasonable. (Adams v. Southern Pacific Co. (1935) 4 Cal.2d 731, 743–744; Francis v. Sauve (1963) 222 Cal.App.2d 102, 124–125.)

The expenses a family may claim commonly include:

• Mortuary and funeral home services
• Transportation of your loved one
• The casket or urn
• Cremation or burial, and the cemetery plot and headstone
• The memorial or bereavement service
• Clergy (ministers, pastors, priests, rabbis)
• Flowers and funeral floral arrangements

These costs belong to the heirs’ wrongful death claim. The heirs are the people listed in Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60: the surviving spouse or domestic partner and the children, or, if there are none, the people who would inherit, along with certain dependents. (See who may bring a claim.) The estate’s separate survival claim is limited to losses your loved one incurred “before death” (§ 377.34, subd. (a)), and the two claims are mutually exclusive (People v. Runyan (2012) 54 Cal.4th 849), so the funeral is claimed by the heirs.

Funeral expenses are only one part of what the family may recover. Our article on wrongful death damages explains the rest.

Someone Has to Pay the Funeral Home First

A wrongful death case takes time, and the funeral cannot wait. Under Health and Safety Code section 7100, the right to arrange the funeral follows a set order: an agent named in the decedent’s power of attorney for health care, then the spouse or domestic partner, then a majority of the adult children, then the parents, and so on. The person with that right generally also bears liability for the “reasonable cost,” shared with other relatives of the same degree and with the estate. A health care agent is the exception: the agent is personally liable only after agreeing to pay, or for costs the agent’s own decisions incur that the estate cannot cover. The estate is also responsible for funeral expenses and may pay them. (Prob. Code, §§ 11420, 11446.)

In practice, the family usually pays the funeral home, or signs for the bill, and is reimbursed later from the recovery. Keep every contract, invoice and receipt. They are the evidence of this part of the claim.

Sometimes someone else pays: the estate, a relative, a friend, a church or an employer. The heirs may still be able to recover the expense, for example when it was paid from the estate that would otherwise have come to them. (Adams, supra, 4 Cal.2d at p. 744.) Whether they can depends on who ultimately bore the cost and whether the person who paid has a right to be reimbursed, so tell your lawyer exactly who paid.

Sources That May Pay Sooner

Depending on how the death happened, other sources may pay some or all of the funeral costs before the case is resolved.

The California Victim Compensation Board. When a crime caused the death, the Board (CalVCB) may reimburse the person who paid for or assumed the funeral and burial expenses, up to $12,818. (Gov. Code, § 13957, subd. (a)(8)(B); CalVCB.) Traffic deaths qualify only in certain situations, including a driver under the influence, a hit-and-run, vehicular manslaughter and a police pursuit. (Gov. Code, § 13955, subd. (e)(2).) CalVCB pays only what other sources do not, its application must generally be filed within seven years of the crime, and bills must generally be submitted within three years, with some exceptions. (Gov. Code, §§ 13951, 13953, 13957.7.) CalVCB has a lien on a later civil recovery and may be repaid from it, and the family’s lawyer must notify it within 30 days of filing suit. (Gov. Code, § 13963.)

Auto insurance. In a fatal crash, the at-fault driver’s liability insurance is the main source. For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, the minimum is $30,000 for the death of one person and $60,000 per accident. (Veh. Code, § 16056, subd. (a)(2).) Some policies also carry optional medical payments coverage, and some policy forms extend it to funeral services. Whether it does in your case depends on the policy. When the at-fault driver had no insurance or too little, and the family’s own policy carries uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage (a policyholder may decline it in writing), that coverage may pay the heirs’ wrongful death damages, including the funeral. (Ins. Code, § 11580.2, subds. (a)(1), (p).)

Business and property insurance. A death at a business or on someone’s property may trigger a commercial general liability, homeowners or renters policy. Some liability policies include medical payments coverage that expressly pays for funeral services regardless of fault, often only if the expense is incurred and reported within a set time. Coverage varies from policy to policy, so the actual policy must be reviewed.

Workers’ compensation. When a worker is killed on the job, workers’ compensation pays a burial benefit of up to $10,000 for injuries on or after January 1, 2013. (Lab. Code, § 4701, subd. (a)(3).) The death benefit claim must generally be filed within one year of the death. (Lab. Code, § 5406.) Many workplace deaths also involve a defective machine, a negligent driver or another company that is not the employer, and those parties can be held responsible for the family’s full losses. (Lab. Code, § 3852.) Our article on fatal work injuries explains how.

Fundraisers Like GoFundMe

Many families turn to an online fundraiser such as GoFundMe, or to a church, school or workplace collection, to pay for the funeral. That generosity does not reduce what the person responsible for the death owes.

Under California’s collateral source rule, money the family receives from a source wholly independent of the wrongdoer is generally not deducted from the damages the wrongdoer must pay. (Helfend v. Southern Cal. Rapid Transit Dist. (1970) 2 Cal.3d 1, 6.) The rule protects gifts from family, friends and even strangers who give to help a family through a tragedy. As one court put it, “Were we to permit a tortfeasor to mitigate damages because of a third party’s charitable gift, the plaintiff would be in a worse position than had nothing been done.” (Arambula v. Wells (1999) 72 Cal.App.4th 1006.) So even when donations covered the funeral, the family may generally still include the funeral cost in its claim. Different rules can apply to certain payments when a government agency is the defendant. (Gov. Code, § 985.)

A few cautions:

• The Victim Compensation Board. CalVCB does not treat crowdfunding as a reimbursement source, but it will not pay a bill that donations have already paid. (CalVCB.) Tell CalVCB about the fundraiser, and coordinate which bills each one covers.
• Taxes. Money given to the family as a gift is generally not taxable income. (IRS.) If the fundraiser raises a large amount, or the platform sends a Form 1099-K, ask a tax professional.
• What the page says. A fundraiser page is public, and insurance adjusters read it. Tell the story of who your loved one was. Do not describe how the crash or incident happened, who was at fault, or anything said by the people involved. Those details belong in the investigation, not online.
• Records. Decide who controls the money, keep it separate, and keep receipts showing how it was spent. If the fundraiser is for young children, talk with a lawyer about how money meant for a minor should be held.

The Release That Comes With the Check

Insurance adjusters sometimes offer to pay the funeral bill in exchange for a signed release. A release is not a receipt. It extinguishes the claim. (Civ. Code, § 1541.) The family may give up its claim for lost financial support and for the loss of love, companionship, comfort and care, which are usually worth far more than the funeral, in exchange for a check that covers only the funeral.

Signing can also cost the family its own insurance. If the heirs settle with the at-fault driver without the written consent of their uninsured motorist insurer, that coverage may be lost. (Ins. Code, § 11580.2, subd. (c)(3).)

Never sign a release, and never cash a check from an insurance company or anyone connected to the death, without your attorney’s approval. A check can come with conditions attached, and cashing it can have legal consequences for the rest of the claim.

Be careful, too, with recorded statements. Families are often asked for a statement in the first days after a death, when they are least able to protect themselves. What is said can later be used to reduce or deny the claim. You may politely decline until you have legal advice.

Before any settlement is considered, a lawyer should identify every insurance policy and every responsible party. Once a lawsuit is filed, the defendant must disclose its insurance carrier and the limits of its coverage. (Code Civ. Proc., § 2017.210.) An asset check on the responsible parties is prudent before any release is signed.

Asking for Payment Now, the Right Way

There is a better way. In many cases, I ask the responsible party’s insurer to pay the funeral expenses immediately, with no release attached.

California law encourages it. An insurer’s advance payment to the heirs is not an admission of liability, and the amount is credited against the final settlement. (Ins. Code, § 11583.) Money paid from “humanitarian motives” cannot be used to prove liability. (Evid. Code, § 1152.) And if the family has no lawyer, an insurer that makes an advance must tell the family in writing when the time to sue runs out, or that time is extended. (Ins. Code, § 11583.)

An advance lets the insurer show good faith, and it takes one burden off the family without costing them anything they are owed.

The Deadlines Still Apply

Payment for the funeral does not stop the clock on the rest of the claim.

• Private parties: a wrongful death lawsuit must generally be filed within two years of the death, which is usually when the claim accrues. (Code Civ. Proc., § 335.1; Norgart v. Upjohn Co. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 383, 404.)
• Government agencies: if a city, county, the State or another public entity may share responsibility, a written claim must be presented within six months after the claim accrues, which in a wrongful death case is ordinarily the date of death. (Gov. Code, §§ 905, 905.2, 911.2, 945.4.) Claims against the State must be made on the State’s own form. (Gov. Code, § 910.4.) An application to present a late claim may be made within one year in limited circumstances (§ 911.4), and a lawsuit generally must follow within six months after the claim is rejected (§ 945.6).
• Uninsured motorist coverage: a lawsuit, agreement or arbitration demand must generally be made within two years of the crash. (Ins. Code, § 11580.2, subd. (i)(1).)
• Workers’ compensation: the death benefit claim, generally within one year of the death. (Lab. Code, § 5406.)

Every case has its own facts, and exceptions exist. Do not try to calculate a deadline on your own. Have a lawyer review it early.

Choosing a Funeral Home

You have many funeral homes to choose from. Talking to friends and family about their experiences can help you find one you trust.

You have the right to compare prices. A funeral home must give you a written list of its prices when you begin discussing arrangements, and it must give price information over the telephone. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 7685; 16 C.F.R. § 453.2.) The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau’s Consumer Guide to Funeral and Cemetery Purchases explains what to expect, and the Funeral Consumers Alliance of California is another source of information. Our page on funeral assistance has more.

The Funeral Is Only the Beginning of the Claim

The person or company that caused your loved one’s death should pay for the funeral. It should also pay for everything else the family has lost.

Keep every funeral receipt. Do not sign a release, cash a check, or give a recorded statement without your attorney’s approval. Watch the deadlines, especially the six-month deadline for claims against a government agency. And let a lawyer ask for the funeral payment in a way that protects the rest of the claim.

Your family should be able to say goodbye without also carrying the bill.

Authorities

• Code Civ. Proc., §§ 335.1, 377.34, 377.60, 377.61, 2017.210.
• Gov. Code, §§ 905, 905.2, 985, 910.4, 911.2, 911.4, 945.4, 945.6, 13951, 13953, 13955, 13957, 13957.7, 13963.
• Ins. Code, §§ 11580.2, 11583.
• Veh. Code, § 16056.
• Lab. Code, §§ 3852, 4701, 5406.
• Health & Saf. Code, § 7100.
• Prob. Code, §§ 11420, 11446.
• Civ. Code, § 1541.
• Evid. Code, § 1152.
• Bus. & Prof. Code, § 7685.
• 16 C.F.R. § 453.2.
• CACI Nos. 3921, 3922.
• Adams v. Southern Pacific Co. (1935) 4 Cal.2d 731.
• Helfend v. Southern Cal. Rapid Transit Dist. (1970) 2 Cal.3d 1.
• Arambula v. Wells (1999) 72 Cal.App.4th 1006.
• Francis v. Sauve (1963) 222 Cal.App.2d 102.
• People v. Runyan (2012) 54 Cal.4th 849.
• Vander Lind v. Superior Court (1983) 146 Cal.App.3d 358.
• Norgart v. Upjohn Co. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 383.