Phoenix funeral home took control of dead people's estates, then charged them excessive fees, complaints say

The families of Robert Heiskell and Carol Emma Carlson both filed complaints against funeral home owner Spencer McBride.(Photo: Courtesy Carlson family and National Personnel Records Center)

As the mail piled up at the man's house, neighbors began to worry.

The homeowner, Robert Heiskell, was a U.S. Navy veteran, a quiet and reclusive man whose wife had died years earlier.

A concerned neighbor called authorities, who on March 22, 2017, found the 80-year-old dead in his home.

Heiskell had no will, and no one claimed his body.

Abel Funeral Services, under a contract with Maricopa County for indigent burial, retrieved his body and placed it in refrigeration while they searched for the next of kin.

A meter started running on Heiskell's funeral bill.

When the county determined Heiskell had too much money to qualify for indigent burial, funeral home owner Spencer McBride received court approval to become the personal representative of Heiskell's estate and settle Heiskell's financial affairs. McBride had done this many times for other estates.

By the time he was done, McBride had authorized payments totaling $30,194 from Heiskell's estate to his funeral home, according to court records.

The median cost of a funeral and burial is $7,360, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.

Robert Heiskell served in 
the U.S. Navy.  
(Photo: National Personnel 
Records Center)

Arizona law allows funeral home owners to act as both executors and creditors of an estate. Most don't want the hassle. Now, the Arizona Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, which regulates the profession, is investigating complaints that McBride assumed control of estates and charged excessive fees for funeral services.

Three complaints in the past year allege McBride did not try hard enough to locate next of kin while his funeral home charged estates excessive fees for funeral services. A fourth complaint didn't dispute fees, but the family of an Air Force veteran was upset over a delay in burial.

Heiskell's closest living relative, a cousin, questioned the bill and alleged in court records that all but about $8,000 of the charges were "excessive," including fees to refrigerate Heiskell's body for 115 days. The matter was settled out of court earlier this year for an undisclosed sum.

McBride has denied in statements to the funeral board of using his position as personal representative for profit.

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Phoenix funeral home took control of dead people's estates, then charged them excessive fees, complaints say