Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Yes and no. The estate of the decedant must pay his or her debts before distributing the property to the beneficiaries. As a beneficiary, however, you are not personally responsible for the debts of the decedant.

Who is the decedent? When did he or she pass away? Did he/she live in Pennsylvania and own land there? Or somewhere else? Where is the land located? Was there a will? Is there a personal representative for the estate and is the estate being probated? The answers to these questions may dictate the result. If there is a will, what does it say about satisfaction of the mortgage/home equity loan? Are there enough assets in the estate to satisfy the loan?

I have assumed that the deceased and the land are both in Pennsylvania. The law in states differs, so the answer may change if the deceased is located in another state. Generally, a decedent is liable for his debts, not his beneficiaries. The problem is that when a house or car is encumbered, somebody has got to pay for it if the beneficiary wants to keep the property. Whether that somebody is the beneficiary or the estate will depend on the answers to the questions I posed.

If there is a personal representative, he or she should get an attorney for the estate and the personal representative will be able to determine what other assets are in the estate and whether the assets are sufficient to pay any claims and if the will provides that the property is to be inherited free of any encumbrances. If there is no personal representative, then there needs to be one and I suggest that if you are beneficiary of the land, that you may want to serve. In that case, you should hire an attorney to assist you.