In the UK debt can not be inherited. A debt that is shared (severally or collectively) with a dead person is different. The main reason for this is that under c

In the UK debt can not be inherited. A debt that is shared (severally or collectively) with a dead person is different. The main reason for this is that under common law you can't be held liable for other people's actions or inaction (unless you specifically agree to it; i.e. being guarantor for someone else's debt). Any assets left after debt has been settled by the estate can be inherited. If the estate has more debt than assets then the estate is effectively bankrupted but it would normally be handled by the Probate Court (the court that handles cases of death estates amongst other things) rather than the Court of Chancery (Bankruptcy court). In days of yore both the Probate Court and the Court of Chancery were a part of the Court of Equity (in effect a court of common law) and so the Probate Court had very similar powers to the Court of Chancery and hence the Probate Court would handle a bankrupted estate rather than turning it over to the Court of Chancery. EDIT: added explanatory clause