For purposes of administration of the estate of a decedent, what counts as a funeral?

ontario

There is nothing special about the funeral per se compared to other ordinary costs of dealing with death. Courts will assess what was a reasonable expense in the circumstances, considering the magnitude of the estate. A wake or celebration of life or other kind of reception may very well be a reasonable charge to the estate.

E.g. the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) recently observed in one estate claim:

The claim was in respect to unremarkable expenses (funeral, reception, credit card, and real property utility bills) is facially reasonable and ordinary amounts.

And in another case:

Last, I am satisfied that the purchases made at Food Basics ($113.40), Costco ($387.40) and Dollarama ($13.05) on December 16, 2019, the day of the celebration of life, were likely purchases made for that reception and served the legitimate interests of the estate. I do not accept that the other purchases made on this day related to the reception. The purchase at Esso ($92.56) was likely for the benefit of the respondent and the purchase at the Beer Store ($36.95) is in an amount that suggests mere personal use, not for use at the reception

england-and-wales

Assuming the estate is solvent, then reasonable funeral expenses are allowed "according to the deceased's condition in life". There is no rule of law which specifies exactly what is allowed and what is not - it is for the judge as the trier of fact (if the matter should come to court for any reason) to decide in the individual case.

Williams, Mortimer and Sunnucks (22nd Edition) comments that:

38-15 The question is one of fact. Thus, the cost of a tombstone was allowed... in one case but not in another. The cost of mourning was allowed in one case but not in another. The cost of reinterment in order to fulfil the last wishes of the deceased has been allowed in Canada. A payment of £93 odd for mourning rings distributed among relations and friends of the deceased was allowed by Lord Eldon where the will gave no directions, but committed “anything not specified” to the discretion of the executors. In a case decided in 1691 the sum of £600 was allowed on the funeral in his own country of a wealthy local celebrity.

Regarding the last case, the case report from 1691 states:

There had been £600 laid out in Mr. Offley's funeral, which the court decreed should be a debt to effect the trust estate, Mr. Offley being a man of a great estate and reputation in his country, and being buried there ; but if he had been buried elsewhere, it seemed his funeral might have been more private, and the court would not have allowed so much.

£600 in 1691 would be worth approximately £130,000 today but he was a man of great estate and reputation in is own country, we are told.

A funeral is the disposal of the body

new-south-wales

Usually a burial or cremation but other more niche options exist. It usually includes a funeral service, religious or secular. In some circumstances, such as where there is no body, a memorial service may be held instead.

The costs of the funeral would include payment to the undertaker, the florist/decorator and celebrant, and the purchase of the plot, crypt, or other resting place.

The funeral does not include the “after party”, commonly known as the wake. Expenses for that are not legally payable by the estate, even though they commonly are.

Of course, none of this matters unless someone takes issue and goes to court. And this is extremely unlikely: funerals are expensive, wakes are cheap. Nobody is going to court over this.