My mom recently passed after 7 yrs of living with dementia. I had POA, Legal Guardianship, Conservatorship and access to all of her financial accounts.
Would there be a probate or other legal problem paying for her funeral & burial expenses out of her bank accounts instead of using life insurance proceeds? Any checks would be signed and dated after her date of death.
Are the accounts still open ? (call the bank to find out).
Have you consulted the lawyer who assisted with Guardianship? I believe those end at dear, as does POA.
If you held a joint account with your mother, there should be no problem with paying her expenses from that account. But IANYL. (I am not your lawyer).
But be aware that if there is a beneficiary/s, other than a spouse, that person/s are not obligated to pay funeral expenses. The money is theirs.
A friend of mine remarried in her 50s. She had a 100k insurance policy thru her employer with her daughter as beneficiary. She always felt her DD would pay for her funeral and keep the balance. The DD found out as beneficiary that she was not obliged to pay the funeral costs. So didn't when my friend passed. Since the trailer the DD lived in was owned by the husband he evicted her and sold the trailer to pay for the funeral.
If you are next of kin, and will be executor of estate, the funeral, if not prepaid, will have to be paid according to the facility managing the services, and can be reimbursed to the person paying out of the estate of the deceased. It can ALSO be BILLED to the Estate of your mother.
If the deceased had only a POA, and there is no will, no known executor, and the chapel, funeral director is unwilling to put in place any payment deferral, or timed payment, I am uncertain myself what next steps should be done.
You will need to discuss with your mother's banks the disposition of her accounts now. You will need to discuss with the funeral establishment the steps forward for her services, and accept, please, my condolences for your loss.