Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Texas
Debt of Deceased person with money
My father just pasted away leaving his widow. He had substantial debt with various credit card companies. We have called most of them as we have discovered them to cancel his accounts. How do they discover his estate? What actions do they take to sieze his estate? Can the following be included in his estate: life insurance, bank account balances, 401k, IRA, house under both his and his widows name, and his personal automobile?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Debt of Deceased person with money
They will file a claim for the debt with the executor of your father's estate. The executor will pay the debts, as best they can, out of the proceeds of the estate.
Insurance, 401(k), and IRA's pass by contract to the named beneficiary. Bank accounts may also pass outside the probate estate if set up as either 'payable on death' or JTWROS (joint, with right of survivorship).
The widow remains liable for the community debt, since the credit cards are a joint and several obligation. They can't force her out of the house, or seize the car.
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