Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Missouri

Re: subject

Adult children of a deceased parent are not automatically responsible for any debt incurred by the parent. However, there are some circumstances under which one may be liable. It is quite normal for creditors of a deceased person to continue sending bills to the last known address of the deceased, and this often results in an adult child of the deceased having to deal with the bill. Many creditors also attempt to persuade the adult child to simply pay the bill "for" the deceased parent. After all, they are just trying to collect money and they don't really care if the surviving child is legally liable or not. If you find yourself in this situation, my advice would be to mark the billing envelope "Return to Sender", "Addressee Deceased", or something similar. You may also write to the creditor and advise them that the parent is deceased, you are not responsible for the debt, and you will be making no payment. If creditors call, you should so advise them and insist that they discontinue contacting you. You may need to get an address and put this in writing in order to preserve your rights under the applicable consumer protection laws. Of course, if you cosigned on any such debt you would still be legally liable. If the debt was secured by any property, real or personal, which is in your possession you may be subject to legal action by the creditor to recover the property. Generally speaking, if you are the personal representative in your deceased parent's estate, you will need to comply with the probate code which requires the filing of a complete inventory of assets owned by the deceased at the time of death and allows creditors six months to file claims against the estate for repayment of any debts left by the deceased. You may not dispose of the assets until after this period has run, all claims dealt with, and all other legal requirements met. So, in such a case a surviving adult child may wind up actually paying debts of the deceased parent but it would be out of the assets left by the deceased. I hope that this response has been helpful for you. If you are in need of legal services and you are not already represented by legal counsel you may call me for a free telephone consultation at 314-727-2822.