Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
My Mother recently passed away, I am the executor of her will. The life insurance has been split between the siblings and now her dept collectors are calling, the home is still in my mothers name and not paid off so I am making the payments, are we responsible to pay off her depts ( not the house ) and will the house be affected if the depts are not paid?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The life insurance proceeds are generally not available to her creditors, but her estate assets (like the house) are, providing the creditors file their creditor claims timely in the probate estate. In most cases, they have up to a year from her date of death to file, or four months from the time probate letters testamentary are issued by the court, whichever occurs sooner. You personally, however, are not responsible for her debts, despite what the debt collectors may tell you.