A will may say to divide an estate equally among three children. But if a particular account is titled to pass to just one, only that beneficiary will get the account.
Your Last Will and Testament is the legal document to put your wishes in writing and get it all straight, right? Not necessarily.
The key to the disposition of your estate is how your assets are “titled” and how the beneficiaries are designated.
Coping with the death of a loved one is difficult enough without the added pressure of creditors calling you to collect on the deceased person’s credit card debt. But can a bank collect a credit card debt owed by your deceased parent or spouse?
By and large, we talk about probate as an unfortunate process. True, probate can put some undo stress on an already stressful family situation, even when there is no disagreement regarding how assets of the decedent are to be distributed. That said, probate can be utterly necessary and even useful when there are debts in the estate picture.
So, how do you handle debts after death? It is a practical question, after all. Few of us leave this life without something lingering in our accounts payable. Unfortunately, too many families do not know which debts live on after their loved ones are gone.
Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog