Funeral costs from Inheritance

[Louislovesmud]

I'm in Edinburgh if this makes any difference to advice given.

My step-aunt passed away at the start of the year and my cousin had to pay for all the funeral costs herself as none of my aunt's natural children could/would.

In her will my s-aunt left a house and car and basically left a note that £10k be left to each of her children and everything/anything else go to my cousin.

Probate hasn't completed yet but my cousin is now under pressure to pay the remaining bills for the funeral. Would she be allowed to sell some of the furnishings in the house (sofa, dining room table etc) to raise cash as this has already been left to her and is going toward settling the estate debts?

She was very close to my s-aunt, who had not been close to her own children (she was forced to give them up as they were born out if wedlock and they didn't ever really manage to connect again) so is struggling a bit with all the legal aspects.

Banks will normally release the money to pay for the funeral before Confirmation (Scottish term for Probate ) is obtained Normally they make the payment direct Who is the executor

Thanks, in this case the money is tied up in other assets rather than a bank account but hopefully the same principle applies

Is your cousin the executor

She is yes, so as well as inheriting what will likely be the largest chunk after the house sale she's also responsible for selling it

I don't really see any problem with her selling stuff
But would she get enough Second hand value of furniture is notoriously low Unless it's antiques of course
She should of course keep a record of what she raises
I am sure her own bank would lend her the money on the basis she will be able to repay when house sells