Tyler Perry and Colin Kaepernick Paying For Nolan Wells' Funeral, Independent Autopsy

Tyler Perry and Colin Kaepernick are stepping up to cover two huge expenses for Nolan Wells' family ... the funeral and an independent autopsy.

Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nolan's family, says Tyler is paying for the funeral and Colin is paying for the autopsy ... and at a Friday press conference, he thanked the celebs for their contributions.

Crump says the family requested an independent autopsy because they lack confidence in the ongoing investigation in Mississippi.

We spoke with Tyler Perry's team ... who confirmed he's paying for the funeral.

As you know ... Nolan went missing from Horn Island in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region over the Fourth of July holiday weekend -- and his body was later discovered floating off the island's coastline.

Investigators said they've found no evidence of foul play ... but Crump says he's not buying that for a couple of reasons -- partly because Nolan knew how to swim and also because the guys Nolan was with are allegedly telling inconsistent stories.

Ben joined us on "TMZ Live" earlier this week ... and called on Mississippi officials to conduct the investigation as if it were "three black boys and a white boy who was with them ended up dead."

Worth noting ... a ton of money for funeral and celebration of life expenses has already been collected on GoFundMe. It's unclear what the family will do with that money now.