define estate

[anp16]

What is the name of your state? New York

I have been trying to figure out exactly what I am responsible for in regards to the hospital bills I have received for my husband. So far I know I will only be responsible for those bills which he received during our marriage (2 months), but nothing prior to that date, correct? Also, I have heard that his estate would then be responsible however he was 26 years old and owned nothing other than his clothes, furniture, a 401K of which I was the beneficiary, and our joint checking account. Which, if any, of these things could be considered part of his estate? If there is no monies to be had from his estate what happens?

 

[Dandy Don]

Did your husband not leave a will?

If there are not enough assets in the estate to pay off all outstanding debts, then they will unfortunately have to remain unpaid.

 

[anp16]

He dictated and signed a declaration stating that I shall be his financial beneficiary in full. However, I'm not sure why because there is nothing out there. His company fired him and he only continued COBRA not his life insurance policy. Maybe he was thinking about other possibilities like malpractice, which is not the case.
So are you being facetious when you say that the bills would be left unpaid? Can they come after my assets? I ask because I have been gifted money from my family recently but after his death. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Dandy Don]

I'm not familiar with your state law, so you really do need to be consulting with a local probate attorney about this, and he can tell you whether or not the 401K is an asset that should be or not be included in probate. You also need to contact the local county courthouse to see what the minimum amount of estate value must be before probate is required, but please don't give the court clerk exact specific details about what is in your husband's estate. It doesn't look like it will add up to be enough to require probate.