Debt Responsibility

Each state or country has their own laws regarding this. They are normally called the Intestacy Statute. Typically it will leave the money to the spouse and children. If there is no heir, the estate will escheat to the government.

That will depend on what relations are living. Typically the spouse and children get the first round. It can go to parents or sibling if they survive. Consult an Arkansas probate attorney for the specifics.

Not unless she is liable for the debt by another rule of law; e.g., she is a signatory on the debt or the debt is one for "necessaries." However, the decedent's nonexempt assets still are liable for the debts.

If he gave it to her within two years of his death, the executor can pull the asset back into the estate to insure creditors are covered. Consult a probate attorney.

They are not personally responsible for the debt or taxes. The estate has to pay off these claims. If the estate cannot, they distribute as best they can. If the court approves the distribution, the debts are ended.

If you mean the federal estate tax, the tax on $150,000 is $38,800. However, if the decedent was a citizen or resident of the U.S., the decedent has a credit of $780,800, which is the tax on the first $2,000,000 in assets. (This applies through the remainder of 2008.) As such, there would be no out of pocket tax, because the credit is greater than the tax. (The credit is not refundable, so the government doesn't pay you any of it!) Remember that assets passing to a surviving spouse who is a U.S. citizen are not taxed. Some states impose estate taxes, as well.

Notice of litigation threshold means that someone has legal proceedings about to be brought upon them and that the notice is to make them aware of those proceedings beforehand.

I think you mean "creditors," those who are owed money. Debtors are the ones who owe the money. In Texas, the proceeds from life insurance policies are exempt if a dependent is named as the beneficiary. Otherwise, the funds are not exempt. Of course, the creditor must know about the policy to collect from it.

my mother in law died last year and her husband was responsible for her medical bills. Over $200,000.

Fiduciary compensation is actually a gray area. However, one rule of thumb to find out the reasonable compensation for medical POA should be based on 5 percent of gross income and 1 percent of gross assets per annum. This also includes reimbursement for out of pocket expenses. The amount may vary depending on the circumstances. It is always recommended to consult a local attorney regarding the matter.

A living trust is set up for a specific purpose, with rules for what is to be done with the assets while the individual is living. They key to many is that it can also transfer the contents without going through probate. An estate is the property of a decedant that is going through probate.

In North Carolina the estate of the deceased is responsible for the debts. Indirectly, the spouse is going to pay the debts, either by a smaller inheritance or as a beneficiary of the goods and services purchased by the spouse.

Typically the estate is responsible for paying the debts, including the medical bills of the deceased. If a child has co-signed any paperwork regarding medical procedures, they may be held liable. If they hope to inherit a house, they may have to pay the bills to avoid the house being sold to pay the debts.

The estate is going to have to resolve debts. It is likely to have to be liquidated anyway.

After the applicable statute of limitations runs (typically four years on a credit card debt), the creditor will have a tough time collecting. If the creditor sues, you have to plead statute of limitations as an affirmative defense, but it is a good defense. ==Additional Answer== In some states there is a specific statutory period during which a creditor can make a claim against an estate. In Massachusetts, for example, once an estate has been filed for probate a creditor has one year to make a claim. After that period the creditor is barred from trying to collect from the estate. Check your state laws. If there is an executor then the estate must have been filed in probate court. If the creditor has already filed a claim against the estate in probate court then the claim will need to be paid before any disbursements are made from the assets of the estate. The creditor will not need to bring suit to collect and the claim filed will preserve its right to collect.

Yes, if the debt was a legitimate debt as many, but not all, unwritten debts are. The only difference when it comes to an estate is that the standard of proof in court might be higher when suing an estate than suing the decedent when he/she was still alive. The reason for this is that the decedent is not available to give his/her side of the story and raise any denials or defenses that might be appropriate. Most states have laws that require such a higher standard of proof, so these have to be checked to see if this rule applies.

Unfortunatly I believe so, that is what life insurance is for.

Continue paying the mortgage. Don't mention that your parents are deceased. Unless the mortgagee is an individual, no one will notice a thing.

The estate has to close out all debts. That is one of the reasons to establish an estate, to show that there are no assets and there is no way to resolve the debts.

Only if the beneficiary to the plan is the estate. If the beneficiary is a person and not the estate, the asset passes to the person. It may still be subject to the decedent's debts, however, unless it is exempt such as in Texas. Of course, the bank would have to know about it to pursue collection.

The child is not personally responsible for the debt. The estate has to pay off the debts including hospital bills. If the estate cannot do so, they distribute as best they can. If the court approves the distribution, the debts are ended.

The children share equally in the estate. If there are any children who predeceased the last parent to die and if those children left children of their own, then those grandchildren would inherit the share that their parent would have inherited and he/she not predeceased.

In most cases the debts of the deceased, including hospital bills, are the responsibility of the estate. The estate, or its beneficiary should reimburse any valid debtors before giving any of the assets away. If the estate has been closed, there should be no further claims. Consult a probate attorney in your jurisdiction for help.

Life insurance is not considered part of an estate and is not available to pay the decedent's bills and debts. Even if there is no money whatsoever to pay bills, the insurance is not part of the estate. The only exception would be if there were no existing named beneficiaries or if the policy is payable to the estate. But even there, keep in mind that it isn't the "insurance" money that is now available to pay the debts. It is "estate" money, because the proceeds were payable to the estate. The Federal government will include life insurance proceeds as part of the gross estate for federal estate tax purposes, but that does not mean they are actually part of the estate.