Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Debt in Death

The husband's debts are the debts of his estate and they must be paid, to the extent that his assets allow. A house owned by husband and wife is owned by the entireties in that each owns the entire house and already owns the entire house when the other spouse's interest in the house is extinguished by that spouse's death.

Such a house is not a part of the deceased spouse's estate.

Gary Moore, Esquire

Hackensack, New Jersey

www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com

Re: Debt in Death

Unless the wife assumed some personal responsibility, only the estate is responsible for debt payments. Usually, but not always, this is limited to assets in the individual name of the decedent, but could include jointly registered assets like bank or brokerage accounts, to the extent of one-half the value, unless the survivor can prove that he or she contributed more than one-half the value. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship. Missing or omitted facts could change the reply.