Paying creditors from estate?

[daphne_d]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA
I am executor of my daughter's estate. She had a will, and left me the balances in her bank accounts, with a small portion to go to her sister. There is a life ins policy ... the husband is beneficiary... the house.....her half will be quitclaimed to husband. The cars belong to the husband. I paid for the funeral costs. She owed money on credit cards. How much is available to the creditors to pay the debts? Do I take out what I paid for funeral expenses, before anything else? I am assuming that they can get the money from the accounts, even though they were left to me in her will. Should the sister get paid before the creditors? Can they expect to be paid from the life insurance?

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA
I am executor of my daughter's estate. She had a will, and left me the balances in her bank accounts, with a small portion to go to her sister. There is a life ins policy ... the husband is beneficiary... the house.....her half will be quitclaimed to husband. The cars belong to the husband. I paid for the funeral costs. She owed money on credit cards. How much is available to the creditors to pay the debts? Do I take out what I paid for funeral expenses, before anything else? I am assuming that they can get the money from the accounts, even though they were left to me in her will. Should the sister get paid before the creditors? Can they expect to be paid from the life insurance?

If the accounts are "yours" because she left them to you in the will, then they are estate assets and will need to be used to pay the estate debt prior to be distributed. Funeral costs are generally at the top of the list for creditors to be reimbursed (verify with your state's laws).

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA
I am executor of my daughter's estate. She had a will, and left me the balances in her bank accounts, with a small portion to go to her sister. There is a life ins policy ... the husband is beneficiary... the house.....her half will be quitclaimed to husband. The cars belong to the husband. I paid for the funeral costs. She owed money on credit cards. How much is available to the creditors to pay the debts? Do I take out what I paid for funeral expenses, before anything else? I am assuming that they can get the money from the accounts, even though they were left to me in her will. Should the sister get paid before the creditors? Can they expect to be paid from the life insurance?

The life insurance is not part of her estate. If she owned the home jointly with her husband there should be no need for a quit claim deed, because that should pass to her husband outside of her estate as well.

Unfortunately, the money in her bank accounts IS part of her estate. Her estate is responsible to pay her debts if there is enough money in the estate to do so. Funeral costs do come ahead of creditors so you can be reimbursed for that first before paying the creditors. However, you will have to use the money from the bank accounts to pay the credit cards. If there is anything left over after the debts are paid then you and her sister would share that.

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA
I am executor of my daughter's estate. She had a will, and left me the balances in her bank accounts, with a small portion to go to her sister. There is a life ins policy ... the husband is beneficiary... the house.....her half will be quitclaimed to husband. The cars belong to the husband. I paid for the funeral costs. She owed money on credit cards. How much is available to the creditors to pay the debts? Do I take out what I paid for funeral expenses, before anything else? I am assuming that they can get the money from the accounts, even though they were left to me in her will. Should the sister get paid before the creditors? Can they expect to be paid from the life insurance?

Quitclaim deed to the surviving spouse? Proceeds from a life policy payable to other than the estate and you are considering a distribution to heirs? How much of the net estate do the creditors share? Preference to a sibling at the expense of the creditors? Etc., etc. Wow!

You are totally and completely lost at sea. What you need to do is to stop asking strangers and hire a probate lawyer because you are about to hit a reef.
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Sorry for the loss of your loved one.