Help!! It has always been our practice to allow funds from a decedents account to be removed to pay the funeral bill up to $5,000.00. We require the death certificate and a copy of the funeral bill. The check is then made payable to the funeral home. Does anyone know if there is any legal ruling to back this practice up?

Found it for you - looks like it $3,500:

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

§ 3101. Payments to family and funeral directors.

(b) Deposit account.--Any bank, savings association, savings and loan association, building and loan association, credit union or other savings organization, at any time after the death of a depositor, member or certificate holder, may pay the amount on deposit or represented by the certificate, when the total standing to the credit of the decedent in that institution does not exceed $3,500, to the spouse, any child, the father or mother or any sister or brother (preference being given in the order named) of the deceased depositor, member or certificate holder, provided that a receipted funeral bill or an affidavit, executed by a licensed funeral director which sets forth that satisfactory arrangements for payment of funeral services have been made, is presented. Any bank, association, union or other savings organization making such a payment shall be released to the same extent as if payment had been made to a duly appointed personal representative of the decedent and it shall not be required to see to the application thereof. Any person to whom payment is made shall be answerable therefor to anyone prejudiced by an improper distribution.