Debt after death of father?

[chiquita_bob]

What is the name of your state? Georgia Chatham County

My father died recently with a will leaving everything to my mother. There was 2 policies, one of $10K & $5K. The house is in both names, one truck in only his name with $5K lien, two old trucks in only his name, 3 credit cards in only his name, and many medical bills for his care. Funeral expenses were $3K. The house can be transferred into her name and hopefully she can transfer the liened truck into her name. how is the debt sorted out? What will she be made to pay? She is only 49 and is told she does not qualify for SSI because of her age. What becomes of the money from my Dad's SSI that he never got to collect? What can we do to make this transition as smooth and easy as possible? She had to stop work to take care of him and her regular bills need to be paid. Please help! We have little and I don't want to see her get caught in a web of debt that she can't get out of. THANKS, Elizabeth

 

[nextwife]

What is the name of your state? Georgia Chatham County

My father died recently with a will leaving everything to my mother. There was 2 policies, one of $10K & $5K. The house is in both names, one truck in only his name with $5K lien, two old trucks in only his name, 3 credit cards in only his name, and many medical bills for his care. Funeral expenses were $3K. The house can be transferred into her name and hopefully she can transfer the liened truck into her name. how is the debt sorted out? What will she be made to pay? She is only 49 and is told she does not qualify for SSI because of her age. What becomes of the money from my Dad's SSI that he never got to collect? What can we do to make this transition as smooth and easy as possible? She had to stop work to take care of him and her regular bills need to be paid. Please help! We have little and I don't want to see her get caught in a web of debt that she can't get out of. THANKS, Elizabeth

As a 51 year old woman who works, supports her own nine year old child and makes mortgage, credit card and car payments, I am curious why your mom would not consider now returning to work to support herself, and make certain she does not lose the truck by defaulting on the payments? 49 is WAY too young to permanently leave the work force. Many of my friends are 55 plus and all still work full time, male and female. In the next 17 years, she could potentially save a chunk of 401K and matching funds toward her eventual retirement. Social security retirement kicks in at FULL retirement benefits at age 66. She can retire on his benefits when she reaches retirement age, or hers. Yes, it would be nice for mom to not work, but if she has very limited resources, she needs to get back into the workforce.

If Dad had qualified for medicare, certain of his expenses may be covered. That needs to be researched, if applicabele. If he was a veteran, there may be some benefits toward burial costs. The redit cards may be a marital debt.

 

[chiquita_bob]

Mom working

I never said she wasn't going to return to work. She has taken a leave of absence from her job of 25 years. The question is "how to square up debt and which ones is she responsible for?". example: Credit cards that are not hers. She will make the current payments on mortgage and truck, but what about HIS credit cards and HIS medical bills. She now has the debt of two incomes, where she will only be receiving one. I don't need to know how she will survive in the future, I need to know how do I settle my father's debt. She is fully capable of taking care of herself, but she is unprepared for the debt of another. I need to know what she is responsible for, debt-wise. And I need to know what creditors can go after. Do they consider a liened truck and two older trucks assets? what can she expect from creditors? Will she have to sell her house, even though there is no equity? I need to know if she can maintain what she has without creditors coming after it, and her having to start from scratch.

 

[kNOwtheLAW]

[..] The question is "how to square up debt and which ones is she responsible for?". example: Credit cards that are not hers. She will make the current payments on mortgage and truck, but what about HIS credit cards and HIS medical bills. She now has the debt of two incomes, where she will only be receiving one. I don't need to know how she will survive in the future, I need to know how do I settle my father's debt. . .

It sounds like you've already made your decision to 'stiff' the credit card companies and the medical providers. That's theft. You father (and mother) purchased items on those credit cards with money they borrowed from those stores or banking institutions. If they don't pay it back they simply stole the money. . . People provided medical services to care for your father, and now you don't want to pay them. . . It won't be easy to get away with it.

You say your father had a will. The Executor/Executrix has the responsibility to settle ALL your father's debt. One cannot walk away from the bills. If you do, claims will be made against the estate. Judgements will be entered, which will have to be paid before the estate can be settled. The Executor/Executrix needs to continue making payments and communicate with the credit card companies and the medical service providers. Your mother should get a job in order to earn the income to deal with these issues. Maybe two jobs. . .

It sounds as if your father (and mother) planned poorly. Please use this as a learning experience in order to not make the same mistake when the time comes to settle your mother's estate.

KTL

 

[ksajb]

Geesh, why don't you people get off of your high judgemental horses and stop showing how ignorant you are and offer some real advice for people who come here? You make a mockery out of the forum and the few who really have some good suggestions!

All of you need to read the original post again because your assumptions are making you look like you don't know a thing. Poor planning, kNowitLAW (that's a joke, right?)? How do you know what that family has been through financially? I must have missed that somewhere in the posts but then again, it doesn't matter because it's none of my business!

Elizabeth, here are a few things your mom can do while sorting this all out. This is based on personal experience.

1. Call the creditors and see if they will work out an affordable payment plan. Maybe your dad had disability insurance on those cards or on the mortgage for that matter.

2. Check with your state and see if the creditors can actually garnish your mom's wages or place a lien on the property. If it's against GA law, there may not be a risk of losing anything.

3. In spite of what you hear, hospitals and dr. offices will take any amount of payment from your mom. One of my husband's drs said most places will take as little as $10/month but I've heard it could be less than that, even.

Hopefully, you'll hear from some other people who can offer some more constructive advice instead of treating you like shark bait. Good luck!

 

[chiquita_bob]

Thanks

I have to thank ksajb for the response to my post about my mother. I was convinced that there was no actual legal advice here. Nobody really understood what I was asking. Nobody knew the circumstances that led my parents to have so much debt. My father had been battling liver cancer for several years. First a liver transplant, then lung surgery performed 500 miles away from their home, then tumors on his spine, ribs and finally brain. People are so quick to judge. If they didn't have credible answers to my real questions, I wish they wouldn't bother. Thanks for helping and NOT being ignorant. I called both his and her credit cards and found they both had payment protection which takes care of the balances. One gigantic step...Tomorrow we tackle medical. Looks like she will be able to breathe again. Thanks again!

 

[ksajb]

That sure was good planning on your parent's part! Hopefully they did the same with the mortgage. I wish you both the best!