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It sounds like they think they need to pay the deceased father’s debts (which they absolutely do not. Don’t know why no-one, including the WaPo journalist, is t

It sounds like they think they need to pay the deceased father’s debts (which they absolutely do not. Don’t know why no-one, including the WaPo journalist, is telling them this. Sounds also like they have a lot of their own debt, but you do not and should not pay a deceased relatives debt).

giantg2 5y ago
Technically they could be liable. If they're paying debts with any estate money (if he left anything), they have to follow a priority. If they're paying lower priority debts before higher priority ones (as set by probate law), then they could be personally liable for the ones that should have been paid.
MerelyMortal 5y ago
> walked into the funeral home ... hoping to settle one more of his father’s outstanding debts It makes sense that they need to pay to receive the ashes, but "one more" implies they are paying other debts, with zero details that they are receiving anything tangible. > inheriting ... his father’s end-of-life expenses, thousands of dollars in debts This article does nothing to help its readers and in fact makes things worse by compounding the notion that debts are inherited.
basicplus2 5y ago
generally of course if properly planned, after death ones bills should all be paid in full, but the cheque for the funeral should bounce...
robocat 5y ago
Except children can be forced to pay medical and resthome debts in some contexts, especially if the parent doesn’t qualify for MedicAid. There are 30 states with filial responsibility statutes: presumably the invisible hand will grab more cash from children in the future using those statutes. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=filial+responsibility+medical+debt https://duckduckgo.com/?q=filial+responsibility+medical+debt Not relevant in this case because the kids clearly haven’t got anything worth taking, and Michigan doesn’t have filial responsibility laws. “In order for filial responsibility to become an issue, a number of issues will have to take place: The elderly parent cannot pay the nursing home bill, The adult child has the ability to pay the nursing home bill, The elderly parent could not qualify for Medicaid, The care facility sues the adult child.”. https://michiganestateplanning.com/do-i-have-to-pay-my-parents-nursing-home-bill-in-michigan/ https://michiganestateplanning.com/do-i-have-to-pay-my-paren...

giantg2 5y ago

Technically they could be liable. If they're paying debts with any estate money (if he left anything), they have to follow a priority. If they're paying lower priority debts before higher priority ones (as set by probate law), then they could be personally liable for the ones that should have been paid.

MerelyMortal 5y ago

> walked into the funeral home ... hoping to settle one more of his father’s outstanding debts It makes sense that they need to pay to receive the ashes, but "one more" implies they are paying other debts, with zero details that they are receiving anything tangible. > inheriting ... his father’s end-of-life expenses, thousands of dollars in debts This article does nothing to help its readers and in fact makes things worse by compounding the notion that debts are inherited.

basicplus2 5y ago

generally of course if properly planned, after death ones bills should all be paid in full, but the cheque for the funeral should bounce...

robocat 5y ago

Except children can be forced to pay medical and resthome debts in some contexts, especially if the parent doesn’t qualify for MedicAid. There are 30 states with filial responsibility statutes: presumably the invisible hand will grab more cash from children in the future using those statutes. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=filial+responsibility+medical+debt https://duckduckgo.com/?q=filial+responsibility+medical+debt Not relevant in this case because the kids clearly haven’t got anything worth taking, and Michigan doesn’t have filial responsibility laws. “In order for filial responsibility to become an issue, a number of issues will have to take place: The elderly parent cannot pay the nursing home bill, The adult child has the ability to pay the nursing home bill, The elderly parent could not qualify for Medicaid, The care facility sues the adult child.”. https://michiganestateplanning.com/do-i-have-to-pay-my-parents-nursing-home-bill-in-michigan/ https://michiganestateplanning.com/do-i-have-to-pay-my-paren...