Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arkansas

Re: probating

Contact me if I can help further.

(617) 527-0050

Stuart Williams

Law Offices of Stuart J. Williams

21 Walter St.

Re: probating

I'm truly sorry to hear of your loss. How did such a thing happen?

I can't legally speak about the laws of your state since I'm not

licenced to practice there, as I am in Mass., nor am I even educated

in your state's laws, but in Mass. and generally most states, you

would generally not be on the hook for your deceased child's debts.

You are right in your thinking:

If you had cosigned a loan or an application for a credit card, you would

be on the hook. I don't believe you are legally required to open an estate

for her at all. If her credit card or whatever debt is so great, the

credit card company can open up a probate estate for her at their expense,

and then get the 4 shares + $190 to cover their expenses, but the legal fees

might make it not worthwhile.

I assume since she was single that she had no children.

I don't know how you can get the 4 shares turned over to you (nor for

that matter to the creditors!) without a probate estate being opened,

though. What are the 4 shares worth? How much is the total of the debts that the creditors

are writing to you about?

The creditors (card-issuers, usually) took a gamble when they offered unsecured / un-

collateralized, money with no guarantors to a 27 year old; they assumed the odds of her

dieing are low and the money they stand to make high enough generaly to cover the various

costs of collection. The fact that they lost on this one, when they make so much money

on so many other accounts, doesn't really jerk my tears of sympathy. On another hand,

what's fair is far and she perhaps ought to give the 4 shares' value, $xxxxx, to that creditor.

If there's no Estate of XXX, perhaps you should simply mark each such

envelope "return to sender; no such address" or "addressee deceased" or whatever.

Good luck.

Stuart Williams

Law Offices of Stuart J. Williams

21 Walter St.