You are correct about the debt and the parent post clearly knows that, having lived through it'l. However the further point being that any assets that had accum

You are correct about the debt and the parent post clearly knows that, having lived through it'l. However the further point being that any assets that had accumulated with the intention of leaving them to the family, and which they relied on, would have been in jeapordy if they hit probate. If he owned a businessnor a house I'm not sure of the rules, but definitely savings, other assets etc. would be up for grabs.