Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Those assets are not part of the estate, so they cannot pay liabilities or debts of the estate. If the executor or administrator (Personal Representative) is uncertain about any aspect of administration of the estate, the Personal Representative should be consulting an estate administration attorney in the area for legal advice. You cannot rely on advice from an online service such as this.

THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

I agree with Attorney Jacobson. If the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or IRA/401(k) is a trust, then those are NON-probate assets. The money from these sources funds the trust and is disbursed as per the terms of the trust. However, these monies CANNOT be used to pay expenses of the estate - like debts, funeral bills/burial costs, etc. The trust monies can only be used to pay trust expenses (like compensation for the trustee or the trustee having to pay an attorney or CPA).

The executor will have to pay the estate taxes out of the other estate assets. If there is not enough money, maybe the estate assets will have to be sold or else the beneficiaries of those assets can loan the estate money to pay the taxes.