Two against one: Tribunal declines siblings’ claim against sister to pay mum’s funeral bill

The sister said she had been left the money by their late parents for personal use after she had "done all the work" in caring for them.

Two siblings have failed to recover money from their sister for funeral costs after their parents died without leaving a will.

The Disputes Tribunal case, centres around nearly $12,000 funeral costs for their mum.

The two siblings, named only as TE and TT in the decision, said their father told them before he died that he had enough money to cover his and his wife’s funerals.

But they told the tribunal their sister, ST, had wrongfully kept all their parents’ money for herself after their deaths. She believed the father had left it to her after she cared for both parents.

The total figure is not disclosed.

According to the decision, recently released online but made at the beginning of the year, TE and TT said they weren’t interested in any additional money, just $11,870 to cover the expenses of their mum’s funeral.

ST argued she had “done all the work looking after her late parents” and said the money her father left was given to her for personal use, and that there was no estate to argue over.

She also had a bank account where her late mother was a secondary signatory.

Adjudicator Kelly Johnson said the tribunal couldn’t rule over a sum of money left intestate, without a will or probate.

“I find that the Disputes Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the claim by the applicants against the respondents and the claim is struck out.”

Senior family lawyer Jeremy Sutton said a “significant” number of adults, possibly around 50 per cent, do not have wills.

“Always have a will no matter how small,” Sutton told NZME. “It costs so much more otherwise.”

He said the High Court is the only court that has jurisdiction to hear cases relating to estates. In his opinion, it makes legal action not worth it in cases where relief is sought on small estates.

“Without a will, the Administration Act makes it clear that the administrator must pay debts first, which includes funeral debt, but if the debt has already been paid by the family, it’s no longer a debt,” he said.

“It makes it harder for the family to argue that they should be reimbursed.”

Sutton said a will ensures costs, such as funerals, are spelled out and ringfenced so when people die there is no confusion around what happens with remaining money and debt.

In this case, Sutton believes the funeral invoice should have been paid from the funds left behind by the mum, and what remained would be split evenly.

“Under the Administration Act, if there is no spouse/de facto partner, then all the children receive an equal share of the estate,” Sutton said.

“The child in this case took everything.”

In his opinion “she is not entitled to do that but if the estate is small, then it will not be worth the court cost in seeking the money be paid out to them”.

In times when people need help, and can’t necessarily afford it, Sutton recommended visiting a local community law centre or Citizens’ Advice Bureau.

Hazel Osborne is an Open Justice reporter for NZME and is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. She joined the Open Justice team at the beginning of 2022, previously working in Whakatāne as a court and crime reporter in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.