Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Indiana

Re: Wondering about future financial security

As a surviving spouse, you would be entitled to all property that was in joint names and be obligated to pay all expenses that were in joint names. The property owned by your husband in his name alone and the debts only in his name form what is called his probate estate. That property bears the burden of the expenses of the administration of his estate, his burial, his final medical expenses and his separate debts. Property such as the 401K and the insurance policy are neither in the joint property or the probate category, although the 401K type plan falls into similar rules to the joint property and the insurance is a complete separate type of thing.

Whoever the beneficiary on the insurance is, is the one who get the insurance money and cannot be compelled to pay out any of that money for expenses (although it is customary to use the insurance money for those expenses). Thus, if the son remains the sole beneficiary to the life insurance policy, then he gets all the money and decides what he wants to do with it. If you are both listed as beneficiary, then each of you will receive half and each can use your own half any way you want to.

All of the joint assets you inherit by succession (or living longer than your husband) are yours to use as you see fit and no one can make you liquidate anything to pay your husband's final expenses or any of his separate debts. Similarly the 401K money of which you are a beneficiary and any IRA or annuity - the beneficiary takes what he is given free of the claims of creditors and the decedent's final expenses. The fact that a spouse or child might utilize those funds for such expenses has no bearing on whether a creditor could have made you do it.

The only way you would be personally responsible for the funeral costs when your spouse dies is if you are the one at the funeral home who signs the contract promising to pay the funeral home. There is no law determining which family member must do this. It can be a child, a parent, a sibling or a spouse or any combination of family members who want to contribute. You, as a surviving spouse might have been injured in an accident which killed your spouse and you are incompetent at the time to sign up for the funeral. Presumptively the son or mother would.

If the individual property owned by your spouse is more than $25,000 in value, then someone must be appointed personal representative by a court and would be responsible for seeing that the assets are used to satisfy expenses in the proper order.