When someone dies, who pays the Debts?

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who recently loss her husband. She does not live in Pennsylvania but knows I handle estate administration and I have been available to answer the numerous questions that inevitable arise. She has made good use of my book Stop! What are you waiting for? Your step-by-step guide to estate planning which was a gift to her before any of us realized just how sick her husband was.

She asked about the bills, medical bills specifically, which are beginning to pile up. Is she responsible for paying these bills? The answer is the estate is responsible. Did her husband have any assets in his name alone? Such funds must be used to first pay the debts of the estate before any distribution is made to beneficiaries. However, assets jointly with his wife and accounts/investments/retirement accounts with beneficiary designation are NOT part of the estate. Therefore, if all of the assets fell into those categories, the estate is bankrupt and can not pay its debts.

Remember though if the estate should come into any money, ie. win a law suit for wrongful death, then the estate has money and those piled up bills have to be paid first. Leave your comments here or contact me at http://www.ythlaw.com/