Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Illinois
can elder parent debts after death pass on to children
1 Answer from Attorneys
In a roundabout way, yes. For example, if the parent attempted give gifts of valuable assets w/in 5 years of death by gifting them to the children, and then took public assistance thinking that the assets would be saved from having to be sold or given to the government to be applied toward final care..., the public agencies have a right to go after the assets and if the children sold the assets the children could be directly liable for the reimbursement. Even a will usually states that the first things to be paid out of the estate will be last illness and funeral expenses; these these things deplete the parent's estate, even though in most cases the children are not directly responsible unless they sign some kind of guaranty of payment (like to a hospital or funeral home)..... And if the parent dies owning a house with a mortgage on it that the children will inherit, somehow the mortgage will have to be satisfied and if the children don't want to lose the house they may have to come out of pocket to cover the debt. If you have specific examples or concerns, however, you ought to state them specifically.
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