Who bears the funeral costs?
According to § 1968 BGB, the heir or heirs bear the costs of the deceased's funeral.
Who has to pay the funeral parlour?
The person who has commissioned the funeral parlour or other service providers is also obliged to pay them the agreed remuneration. The funeral director can therefore not be instructed to pay the other heirs a proportionate share of the remuneration. However, the person who initially bore the costs of the funeral can recover the money from the other co-heirs. This also applies if the other co-heirs did not agree at all with the organisation of the ceremony. However, a funeral must be appropriate. The wealthier the deceased was, the more expensive the funeral service can be. The division of costs is then simple. Each heir bears the funeral costs in proportion to their inheritance share.
Who has to pay if all heirs have disclaimed?
If all heirs have waived their right of inheritance, the obligation to bury and bear the costs for close relatives is determined by the burial laws, which differ slightly from state to state. Often the funeral laws of the federal states also determine the order of the obligated parties, whereby the following order of precedence often applies: spouses, adult children, parents, adult siblings, grandparents and adult grandchildren (see § 9 BestG NRW). This may mean that the following surviving dependants are not required to reimburse the costs as long as there is a surviving dependant with priority who can bear the costs. For example, the siblings of the deceased are not liable for the funeral costs if there are children or parents of the deceased who can bear the costs.
Who takes care of the funeral if the relatives do not agree and do not take action?
Usually, the competent authority according to the burial laws of the federal states - usually the municipality in which the death occurred or the deceased was found - sets a deadline for the relatives to issue a burial order. If the relatives still do not take action, the authority will arrange the funeral itself.
From whom does the authority claim back the costs of the funeral?
The authority demands reimbursement of the costs from the relatives who are responsible according to the burial laws of the federal states. If several relatives are liable for reimbursement, they are liable to the authority as joint and several debtors, i.e. the authority can in principle demand reimbursement in full from each equally liable party. However, there are court decisions that indicate that the authority must exercise its discretion when deciding from whom to demand reimbursement of the costs. Different financial circumstances of the parties obliged to reimburse play a role here, for example. It is also argued that the authority must justify its selection decision among the several potential debtors (see judgement of the VG Saarlouis of 14 January 2014 - 3 K 956/13).
What funeral costs are reasonable?
According to § 1968 BGB, the heirs bear the costs of the deceased's funeral. The person who initially bore the funeral costs as the person entitled to care for the deceased has a claim for compensation against the heirs (Saarbrücken Higher Regional Court, judgement of 15 July 2009, ref.: 5 U 472/08).
However, the heirs are only obliged to bear the necessary and reasonable costs. The necessity and appropriateness of the funeral costs are determined by the deceased's position in life and, taking into account the capacity of the estate and the heir, include everything that is traditionally part of a dignified funeral. The heir must therefore bear the costs for everything that is part of a dignified and appropriate funeral according to the prevailing views and customs in the circles of the deceased, over and above what is absolutely necessary (Saarbrücken Higher Regional Court, judgement of 15 July 2009, case reference: 5 U 472/08).
The costs for a Double grave for example, are not subject to reimbursement. The obligation of the heir to bear the costs is limited to the costs of the funeral of the deceased himself. Even if it is customary and good practice for a double grave to be purchased upon the death of the first deceased spouse or partner so that the survivor can later find his or her final resting place at the side of the deceased, the higher costs for the double grave do not relate to the funeral costs of the deceased. Not all costs incurred by the person entitled to care for the deceased are to be reimbursed, but only those that must be added to the costs of the deceased's funeral itself. However, the (additional) costs for a double grave, i.e. the costs that are not incurred for the grave of the deceased but for that of his or her spouse who is still alive, cannot be included in this (BGH, judgement of 20 September 1973 - III ZR 148/71 - BGHZ 61, 238).
In a judgement dated 15.07.2009, Ref.: 5 U 472/08 - 72, the OLG Saarbrücken ruled that the Costs for a gravestone In the case of modest living conditions of the testator, only EUR 3,000.00 is considered appropriate (with actual costs of EUR 6,480.00).