Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Legal responsibility for relatives?
Is it true that if a person does not pay their debts and passes away, their relatives have to assume the debt? For example, if my mother has unpaid hospital bills, will I be responsible for paying them off if she passes away?
Asked on 4/23/01, 12:37 am
1 Answer from Attorneys
Roy Hoffman
Law Offices of Roy A. Hoffman
Re: Legal responsibility for relatives?
Generally after a person dies, whatever assets they have at the time of their death are used to pay their debts. If your mother has assets, those assets must be used to retire her debt, even if she has left a will which leaves all of her property to you.
If you mother dies without any assets, you generally would not be responsible for paying her debts, although there may be exceptions to this general rule.
Answered on 6/14/01, 5:27 pm
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