WOMAN TRIES TO COLLECT ON CHARITABLE FUNERAL

December 11, 2012
Luis E. Barreto

Some would say that no good deed goes unnoticed. In a bizarre burial scheme in Connecticut, though, it would appear that at least one good deed should go unpaid, at least through probate litigation.

A funeral home director is attempting to collect money from a deceased victim’s estate after she provided a lavish service for the man, who reportedly had no friends or family to mourn his passing. The director decided to claim the man’s body from the local medical examiner’s office after it languished there for eight months. She put on a fabulous burial service for the man, complete with a stainless-steel coffin, a guitar player and other fine furnishings.

Now, the woman is attempting to recover funds from the man’s estate in order to pay for the ceremony, which was never included in the man’s probate documents. An attorney for the man’s estate said the woman will not prevail in the case. When the woman offered to provide the beautiful funeral, she did not mention that she planned to collect the funds from the deceased man’s estate.

Probate judges are accusing the woman of attempting to profit from the dead man’s misfortune; this is the second time she has brought the claim before local courts. The woman is seeking massive amounts of money in connection with the service, including compensation for the $14,000 casket and $10,000 vault where the man is entombed. She also is looking to recover thousands of dollars in compensation for her own services, along with about $3,000 for the man’s headstone. The last charge is particularly upsetting for the man’s executor, who said he already paid about $2,000 for a headstone.

Attorneys for the woman say she is not attempting to defraud the man’s estate. Rather, she is trying to cover the expenses she incurred after being fined for her actions by the state’s Department of Health.

Luis E. Barreto
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