Will I go to jail for this?

Shit man.. that's a dark relationship to a dad.. good luck!
 
Question, @Fedorgasm
Did anyone have power of attorney over his assets? Or was he of sound mind when he passed?
 
Dad died yesterday. Had no will, so his house and his $2,000 in the bank is all he had and I think that means it will go to probate court and likely be evenly distributed among me and my siblings.

But here's the question. I have his atm card and I know his pin. The bank doesn't know he's dead yet. I could theoretically go take that money out and use it to pay for some of the funeral expenses.

I'm kinda pissed at him for not making any arrangements ahead of time and leaving me to figure all this out and pay for the entire funeral out of my own pocket. I'd been reminding him to take care of this shit for years now and he didn't. He knew he didn't have long. So I feel like any money he has left should go towards his funeral.

2k is not enough, I'm still going to be on the hook for the rest, but it would help.

Anyhoo, I feel like even though I may have valid justification, that this might be illegal and get me into trouble.

@Law Talkin’ Guy

Condolences @Fedorgasm

On to your question: It’s the responsibility of the estate of a deceased to pay for the funeral costs for said deceased. As such, as long as you keep track of all of your receipts so that you can prove that the money went to those funeral expenses then you won’t be attracting any legal liability.

If anything what you’re doing is the smart thing that I wished my wife and her family had done when her father died in 2015. He was a drunk and only had $12,000 in the bank, that was it. No car, no investments, no house etc. When he died of a heart attack my mother-in-law wasn’t able to find his bank card initially so she called the bank and they froze the account. We had to probate the estate the get the money out. Luckily I did it for free for my wife’s family otherwise they would have been looking at about $3500 in legal fees to hire a lawyer to do the probate.
 
Need to know the power of attorney status before you do anything rash, @Fedorgasm
My mother had to account for every penny with my Grandma, like my step-dad had an Excel spread sheet going because you can get into quite serious trouble for it even if it's an oversight.
 
Dad died yesterday. Had no will, so his house and his $2,000 in the bank is all he had and I think that means it will go to probate court and likely be evenly distributed among me and my siblings.

But here's the question. I have his atm card and I know his pin. The bank doesn't know he's dead yet. I could theoretically go take that money out and use it to pay for some of the funeral expenses.

I'm kinda pissed at him for not making any arrangements ahead of time and leaving me to figure all this out and pay for the entire funeral out of my own pocket. I'd been reminding him to take care of this shit for years now and he didn't. He knew he didn't have long. So I feel like any money he has left should go towards his funeral.

2k is not enough, I'm still going to be on the hook for the rest, but it would help.

Anyhoo, I feel like even though I may have valid justification, that this might be illegal and get me into trouble.

@Law Talkin’ Guy

It's time to find a probate lawyer who will give you a free consult.
 
No. He never made any of those preparations ahead of time. He collapsed and was taken to the hospital unconscious, and just never woke up.
Ahhh man, sorry. Leave the money where it is, posthumous you could get into trouble.
 
Also, if you end up paying for the rest of the funeral out of your pocket you’re entitled to be reimbursed for those expenses before the remainder of the estate is divided among the beneficiaries.
 
Nota bene**

My advice that I gave above is valid in Canada. For all I know the law could work slightly differently in your State @Fedorgasm so see if you can get some local legal advice before you do anything.
 
Sadly this happens frequently. Family bullshit don't go away after a death, quite often it intensifies with heightened emotions.
A clear conscience is worth way more than $2000
 
Dad died yesterday. Had no will, so his house and his $2,000 in the bank is all he had and I think that means it will go to probate court and likely be evenly distributed among me and my siblings.

But here's the question. I have his atm card and I know his pin. The bank doesn't know he's dead yet. I could theoretically go take that money out and use it to pay for some of the funeral expenses.

I'm kinda pissed at him for not making any arrangements ahead of time and leaving me to figure all this out and pay for the entire funeral out of my own pocket. I'd been reminding him to take care of this shit for years now and he didn't. He knew he didn't have long. So I feel like any money he has left should go towards his funeral.

2k is not enough, I'm still going to be on the hook for the rest, but it would help.

Anyhoo, I feel like even though I may have valid justification, that this might be illegal and get me into trouble.

@Law Talkin’ Guy

Bro your pops died without a will, so he died in intestate. It will most likely end up in probate court but it does NOT mean the money is split between the kids evenly.

Is there a mother still? Did he have brothers or sisters? A lot probate court will look into.

Also you can take and spend the money but if your siblings bring that up in court the judge could order you to pay it back and more..

I deal with this crap on a daily basis.
 
Also, just discuss it with your siblings. If everyone is OK with it @Fedorgasm then proceed. This isn’t something you would go to jail for, but it is something you would get sued for by one of the beneficiaries.
 
Sorry to hear about your Dad even though it was a rocky relationship.
 
Also, just discuss it with your siblings. If everyone is OK with it @Fedorgasm then proceed. This isn’t something you would go to jail for, but it is something you would get sued for by one of the beneficiaries.

Indeed @Fedorgasm ,
Probates destroy families. That's why I always highly advise family and friends to have a damn Will if you want your family to stay together once you're gone.
 
Where are your siblings at in all this? Honestly if no one wanted to contribute, I wouldn't bother with organizing the funeral. Funerals are for the living not the dead.
 
Dad died yesterday. Had no will, so his house and his $2,000 in the bank is all he had and I think that means it will go to probate court and likely be evenly distributed among me and my siblings.

But here's the question. I have his atm card and I know his pin. The bank doesn't know he's dead yet. I could theoretically go take that money out and use it to pay for some of the funeral expenses.

I'm kinda pissed at him for not making any arrangements ahead of time and leaving me to figure all this out and pay for the entire funeral out of my own pocket. I'd been reminding him to take care of this shit for years now and he didn't. He knew he didn't have long. So I feel like any money he has left should go towards his funeral.

2k is not enough, I'm still going to be on the hook for the rest, but it would help.

Anyhoo, I feel like even though I may have valid justification, that this might be illegal and get me into trouble.

@Law Talkin’ Guy
Brian laundry is that you
 
I wouldn't risk it over $2000

R.I.P. to your dad
 
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