Who has to pay the funeral expenses?

Verified 01 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

In the event of the death of a loved one, check whether the deceased had signed a contract to cover the funeral costs. If not, they are your responsibility as heir. You can then ask for a refund on the estate or to the other heirs. Various organizations may also reimburse all or part of the costs.

The following expenses constitute funeral expenses (non-exhaustive list)

  • Burial expenses and accompanying ceremony
  • Cremation expenses and accompanying ceremony
  • Notice of Funeral
  • Letters of invitation and thanks
  • Purchase and installation of a religious emblem on the tomb
  • Acquisition of a concession in a cemetery
  • Construction, opening and closing of a vault
  • Transport costs of the body
  • Costs of erecting a funeral monument
  • Costs of buying flowers and wreaths.

The payment of fees is made at the time of the funeral.

It is possible to obtain reimbursement of all or part of the expenses after the funeral, in certain situations.

At the time of the funeral

Funerals are supposed to take place within 14 working days of death.

You must check whether the deceased had taken out an insurance policy for the payment of his funeral.

If this is the case, the person named in the contract receives a sum of money to pay all or part of the funeral.

There are several types of contracts, with different services:

Death insurance contract

It allows you to receive a capital if the subscriber of the contract (the deceased) has designated you as beneficiary of it.

FYI  

A death insurance contract does not require its beneficiary to use the money received for the organization of the funeral.

Funeral insurance contract

This is a provident insurance contract which provides for the payment of a fixed amount of capital in return for the payment of premiums.

Depending on the contract, several contribution modalities are possible:

  • Single premium
  • Temporary bonuses (depending on the duration chosen: 5 years, 10 years, etc.)
  • Lifetime premiums, until the death of the insured person.

FYI  

The funeral insurance policy is not life insurance. It's not not a savings product. Some contracts provide for a buyback option. But the subscriber cannot recover all the contributions he has made.

In order to finance the funeral, the contract allows the payment of the subscribed capital to one of the following beneficiaries:

  • A person designated by the subscriber (the deceased)
  • A funeral business.

The funeral insurance contract provides for the payment of a principal, but it does not list the funeral benefits (ceremony, coffin...).

The beneficiary is obliged to use the paid-up capital to finance the funeral.

However, the amount paid does not necessarily cover the full cost of the funeral.

To check if the deceased had taken out a funeral insurance policy, you can use the following online service:

Request the search for a funeral insurance contract

If the deceased had taken out a funeral insurance policy, you must provide proof of funeral expenses in order to obtain a refund.

Funeral contract

It is used to finance and organize funerals. It specifies the conditions of funerals (funeral services for example) and their cost.

The services must be customized according to the wishes of the subscriber of the contract.

This type of contract may also relieve the family of the deceased of certain procedures and costs (religious service, press advertisement, purchase of a concession, etc.), depending on the content of the contract.

FYI  

Guarantees of assistance may be provided for in the contract, such as the repatriation of the body of the deceased. They may be subject to conditions (e.g. death more than 50 km from the deceased's home).

As heir (ascending or descendant of the deceased), you have to pay the funeral expenses, regardless of the existence or absence of emotional ties with the deceased.

As heir, even if you give up the estate, you must pay the funeral expenses of your ascending or your descendant.

This duty is part of your maintenance obligation.

However, you are not required to pay your parent's funeral expenses if they have seriously breached of its obligations towards you (e.g. violence, abandonment of family).

If you sign the contract with the funeral business, you pay the bill alone.

You then have recourse against the other heirs to make you repay.

FYI  

If you pay the funeral expenses without being the heir of the deceased, you can ask to be reimbursed by the heirs.

If the family of the deceased does not have sufficient resources, the municipality of the place of death must bear the costs of the funeral.

In this case, the city council chooses the funeral home.

It's the mayor who assesses the inadequacy of resources.

Who shall I contact

After the funeral

As a relative of the deceased, you can obtain a refund of all or part of the funeral expenses.

You can ask the deceased's bank to deduct from his (payment) accounts all or part of the sums you have advanced to pay the funeral expenses.

This levy is possible within the limit of €5,965 (and the amount available on the account).

You must present the settled invoice.

The levy is possible even if the person who paid the invoice is not an heir (a cohabiting partner or a friend for example).

It is enough that it is the person closest to the deceased (we speak of person qualified to provide for the funeral).

Apportionment of costs among heirs

Funeral expenses are distributed among the heirs, in proportion to the value of what each one collects in the estate.

If the estate does not cover the funeral costs, these must be borne by the descendants, according to their resources. It's the application of their maintenance obligation in respect of the deceased.

You must agree between you or before the notary, if his appeal is compulsory.

In the absence of an agreement, it is Jaf: titleContent which sets the distribution.

You can attempt mediation before bringing the matter before the judge.

You can enter the JAF by query or by assignment.

The request is possible when the amount of your request does not exceed €5,000.

In this case, you can explain your request on free paper, justifying your situation.

Send your request to the JAF of the court of your domicile by mail RAR: titleContent.

Who shall I contact

Grounds of appeal

The heir who paid for the funeral has recourse against the other heirs to be reimbursed.

If the person who paid the bill is not an heir (a cohabiting partner or a friend for example), he can be reimbursed by the heirs.

In the absence of an amicable agreement, if you have paid the bill for the funeral, you can demand a refund.

You can choose one of the following:

  • Commissioner of Justice (formerly judicial officer and judicial auctioneer) for a summons to pay or a small claims recovery procedure
  • Judicial Tribunal.

You can find the coordinates of a commissioner of justice close to your home on the website of the National Chamber of Justice Commissioners:

You can bring the matter before the court by assignment or by query.

The request is possible when the amount of your request does not exceed €5,000.

Who shall I contact

Deduction of funeral expenses

Funeral expenses may be deducted from the estate, within the limit of €1,500.

If you pay for a parent's funeral, you can pay for it deduct from your taxable income, if they are not deducted from the estate.

Please note

The cost of erecting a funeral monument and the cost of buying flowers and wreaths cannot be deducted from the estate of the deceased or from the taxable income of the person who paid them.

Social Security death benefit

The death benefit of the general plan is an allowance paid to the family of the deceased by the Social Security, provided that he has been employed.

Less than 3 months before his death, the deceased had to be in one of the following situations:

  • Employee
  • Unemployed person compensated
  • Recipient of an occupational accident or disease pension (with a disability rate of at least 66.66%)
  • Recipient of a disability pension.

You must claim the death benefit.

Application for death benefit - General Social Security Scheme

Death benefit of a public servant

It's paid-in capital to rights holders of a deceased official.

The grievor was supposed to be active.

You must apply for death benefit with the employer’s administration of the deceased official.

Reimbursement by Retirement Insurance

Retirement (or survivor's) pensions paid by Retirement Insurance are due until the end of the month that includes the death of the pensioner.

If the Retirement Insurance still owes the deceased money, you can ask him to reimburse part of the funeral expenses.

FYI  

Funeral expenses are reimbursed in priority, before any payment to the estate of the deceased retiree.

The refund is capped at €2,286.74within the limits of the sums due to the deceased.

To receive the refund, you must present the invoice funeral expenses and the death certificate.

Be heir or right holder is not necessary to get a refund.

Death benefit from France Travail

The death allowance shall be paid the spouse (married, past or common-law partner) of a deceased jobseeker.

If you are concerned, you must contact the France Travail agency (formerly Pôle emploi) on which the jobseeker depended.

Who shall I contact

Aid from complementary bodies

In some cases, you may be helped to pay part of the funeral costs.

You must contact directly the organizations to which the deceased was affiliated:

  • Supplementary pension fund
  • Mutual, complementary health
  • Provident organization.

Depending on the cause or circumstances of death, you can get a refund of funeral expenses.

You must report the accident to the insurer within the time period stipulated in the contract.

Traffic accident

The treatment depends on the situation:

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The person responsible for the accident is identified 

Compensation in the event of a traffic accident depends on the situation.

Insured persons are compensated by their own insurer in most cases. They benefit from agreements between insurers.

FYI  

You must report the accident to your insurer within the time limit stipulated in the contract.

This period may not be less than 5 working days.

If the person has died in an accident, and if the liability of a third party is retained, you can obtain compensation from the person responsible.

The insurer must offer you a offer of compensation that you are free to accept or refuse.

If you refuse the insurer's proposal, you can apply to the court for request a repair the harm you suffered as a result of your death.

Who shall I contact

The person responsible for the accident may be ordered to pay you damages.

This includes funeral and burial costs (e.g. purchase of a concession or restoration of an existing vault).

The person responsible is not identified or is not insured

You must claim compensation from compulsory insurance guarantee fund (FGAO).

Funeral expenses are included in the compensation.

You have a 3-year delay after the accident.

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If the deceased was affiliated to the general scheme of Social security or to the MSA: titleContent, you can request care.

The funeral expenses of the deceased victim shall be borne by the CPAM: titleContent or the AMM, up to €2,003.

The CPAM or MSA also covers the costs of transporting the body to the burial site (only in France), at the request of the family, in one the following cases:

  • The death occurred during a business trip
  • The deceased had left his/her residence at the request of his/her employer to be hired (specifically, the employee came to sign his/her employment contract at the request of his/her employer).

Depending on your situation, contact your CPAM or MSA caisse.

Who shall I contact

If the deceased was an employee, you can also benefit from pension guarantees.

Coverage is provided for in the branch or professional collective agreements to which the deceased employee was attached. The law does not provide for a minimum guarantee.

FYI  

Additional guarantees can be taken out by the employer and cover the reimbursement of funeral expenses.

Criminal offense (violence, attack...)

The treatment depends on the situation:

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General case

Where death results in the opening of a police investigation or judicial information before an investigating judge, as a relative of the victim, you can constitute a civil party.

If the perpetrator(s) is/are convicted, you can obtain damages to compensate for your various damages.

In the event of insolvency of the convicted person, you must contact the Service d'aide et de recouvrement des victimes d'infractions (Sarvi).

This service forwards the application to the Guarantee Fund for Victims of Terrorism and Other Offenses (FGTI).

He may replace the defaulting convict within the limit of €3,000.

Act of terrorism

The Guarantee Fund for Victims of Terrorism and Other Offenses (FGTI) compensates for the damage moral and economic costs of relatives of deceased victims, such as funeral expenses.

You must contact the service of assistance and recovery of victims of crime (Sarvi).

If the deceased was affiliated to the general scheme of Social security or to the MSA: titleContent, you can request care.

The funeral expenses of the deceased victim shall be borne by the CPAM: titleContent or the AMM, up to €2,003.

The CPAM or MSA also covers the costs of transporting the body to the burial site (only in France), at the request of the family, in one the following cases:

  • The death occurred during a business trip
  • The deceased had left his/her residence at the request of his/her employer to be hired (specifically, the employee came to sign his/her employment contract at the request of his/her employer).

Depending on your situation, contact your CPAM or MSA caisse.

Who shall I contact

If the deceased was an employee, you can also benefit from pension guarantees.

Coverage is provided for in the branch or professional collective agreements to which the deceased employee was attached. The law does not provide for a minimum guarantee.

FYI  

Additional guarantees can be taken out by the employer and cover the reimbursement of funeral expenses.

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