In California, a deceased person's debt is paid through his estate before any assets can be distributed to beneficiaries and heirs. Since California is a community property state, there is a chance a decedent's wife may be held responsible for parts of some debts that were acquired during the marriage, but this is not typical. When in doubt about how a deceased person's debts need to be paid, consult with a California probate lawyer.
Small Estate
In California, as of May 2011, a small estate is one that has assets valued at less than $100,000. Estate assets are the real property and personal property a decedent owned individually at the time of her death, such as a car, home or collectible items.
Independent Probate
An independent probate process in California is one where the decedent left a will and assigned someone to be the personal representative of his estate affairs. The decedent's personal representative has full authority over asset distribution and debt payments for the estate in this case, and she is responsible for creating an inventory of the estate assets and their value, distributing death notices, paying off all valid debts and distributing remaining assets according to the terms of the will.
Court Assisted Probate
When there is no will and no personal representative named, the estate goes through a court-assisted probate process. With court assisted probate, a judge assigns someone as the estate executor, and all steps the executor takes on behalf of the estate must first be approved by the judge.
Estate Debt Payments
Regardless of which probate process is used for a decedent's estate, all outstanding debts are paid from the estate assets. When necessary the personal representative or estate executor must sell or liquidate assets from the estate to pay off the outstanding debts in a specific order set out by law. Estate debts include court administration costs, funeral expenses, outstanding loans, credit card bills, taxes and other unpaid bills. After all the bills and debts are paid, the remaining estate assets are distributed to heirs, beneficiaries and family members.
0 comments:
Post a Comment