Bills left by someone who passes away question.

[PinkInTheBlue]

I'm sure the question is obvious but how are you suppose to handle bills left behind when someone passes away? My MIL passed away this past week and has several medical bills and a few various other things that she was paying on. Obviously we know how to generally handle the things like cell phones, cable, etc. There is NO money, no will or estate of any kind. The medical bills are between Alabama and North Carolina.

 

We want to contact them as soon as possible. It don't know what to say or what to expect.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thank you :)

[Tigger]

The probate court will help you navigate the finalization of the estate - I'd strongly suggest taking that step first before contacting anyone owed money since an estate without assets cancels any debts when there is no money or assets except where there are co-signers for debts. If there is no money and no assets, the debts will be forgiven and written off - you will not owe the money.

[Slipper]

I don't know all the answers but I do know this - they will ask YOU to assume responsibility for them. (Not all of them, but some of them will ask you to do that). You are not responsible for her bills and do not let them talk you into it.

 

I would think it would be as simple as just telling them she has passed away and providing them a copy of her death certificate - but it's probably not that easy.

 

Sorry :(

[Lady Florida.]

The probate court will help you navigate the finalization of the estate - I'd strongly suggest taking that step first before contacting anyone owed money since an estate without assets cancels any debts when there is no money or assets except where there are co-signers for debts. If there is no money and no assets, the debts will be forgiven and written off - you will not owe the money.

 

 

:iagree: Do not contact the companies to whom she owed money.

[OLG]

Get the death certificate and contact probate court. You can often find the name/contact online. Start with the state where she passed away. As PP said, if you or others are not part of the debt then you will not be held responsible. But dying w/o a will necessitates going through the probate courts. THey are very helpful, most of the time. So sorry for your loss.

[Night Elf]

I wonder if it will differ by state? When my dad died in Lousiana in 1988, he had more liabilities than assets. It was in our best interest to refuse the estate and therefore we weren't responsible for paying the bills. They sold his house which was in very bad repair. They had a list of everyone that he owed money to including the hospital. They paid part of the top priority, part of the 2nd, etc. My grandmother was 4th on the list because she paid cash for his funeral. He had one whole life policy that named me and my sister as beneficiaries. That wasn't affected and we still got our shares without it being attached to his estate.

[shanvan]

Just a side note slightly off topic:

 

Some states still have laws that require relatives of people who have mental illness to pay their debts. I once had to contact a lawyer about this b/c of a facility that decided we had to pay such debts (while the person was still living). We were able to prove that she had the money and just wasn't paying, so we were okay. The lawyer I spoke with said it's unfortunate, but some states do allow this law to be used and it's only in the case of someone with a mental illness--not a relative with a physical problem.

[SunD]

I made a few calls like that after my uncle passed away. He had no money to speak of.

 

Some of them did try to get me to pay his debts. They didn't come out and say "You don't owe for him but we'll ask you anyway." They said things like, "I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm sure you want to close out his account?" I would confirm and they'd say, "All right, mail us a copy of his death certificate. I see he has an outstanding balance of $524.59. Shall we take care of that today so you don't have to call back later to close the account?"

 

Sneaky, sneaky. Apparently a lot of people pay because they're in shock and just do whatever comes next while they're grieving.

[LMA]

The courts will appoint an administrator for the estate. Yes, there is still an estate assumed at this time. The administrator has to put a public notice for debtors and the administrator will inform those companies with which she had debt. This includes the utility companies. The debts have to be paid out of the estate first. I just finished dealing with such an estate. If she had cable bills, did she have a house? Did she have a checking account? How did she pay the bills? The savings accounts cannot be touched either at this stage.

[tex-mex]

The courts will appoint an administrator for the estate. Yes, there is still an estate assumed at this time. The administrator has to put a public notice for debtors and the administrator will inform those companies with which she had debt. This includes the utility companies. The debts have to be paid out of the estate first. I just finished dealing with such an estate. If she had cable bills, did she have a house? Did she have a checking account? How did she pay the bills? The savings accounts cannot be touched either at this stage.

:iagree:

 

Went through probate for my mother's bills & home. Took over a year with my aunt being the administrator, a lawyer, and all of us relatives chipping in $$ to pay lawyer fees and debts. Worth every penny.

[Kari C in SC]

I am not sure if you even need to do the probate thing or not. If there is no estate and you got nothing from it - you can pretty much walk away from it. When my ds passed away, he had one credit card with about a $500 balance. I was told by the Army Casualty Assistance officer that I was not obligated to pay that unless my ds had money in his estate to pay it. His estate does not include life insurance as another poster stated. The estate of the deceased in cash/investments/property in their name. If there is nothing, then there is nothing. You do not owe anything.