When a loved one passes away, their loved ones will likely want to get the final affairs handled quickly. They’re likely grieving their loss as they’re doing this, so it’s critical for them to understand how to handle things like creditor claims against their loved one’s estate.
Decedents who have an estate plan will likely have an estate administrator named. This is the person who’s responsible for handling the estate’s matters. One of these is ensuring that creditors are paid as long as the estate is solvent. There’s a specific order that debts must be paid, so it may behoove them to work with someone familiar with these matters.
Do loved ones have to pay the decedent’s estate?
In most cases, the loved ones of the person who passed away aren’t liable for the debts. The exceptions to this are for accounts that have co-signers or joint account holders. In those instances, the co-signer or joint account holder will be responsible for paying the debt after the decedent’s death.
Sometimes, unscrupulous creditors may try to get loved ones to pay the debts of deceased relatives, but doing so is illegal. If anyone is contacted about a deceased loved one’s debts, they should point the creditor to the estate administrator and avoid providing any personal or financial information.
The estate administration must be handled precisely, which can be challenging for someone who’s grieving their loved one’s death. Working with someone who understands the intricacies of the estate administration process is critical in these cases.
