Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington
insolvent estate with no will
My mother passed away recently with no will. She was insolvent at the time of death and she did not have a will. She has approximately $3,000 in assets and $4,000 in total debt from 10 different creditors. I am not sure what I need to do now? Do I need to file something with the court to be able to access her bank account to pay her creditors? Is that my legal responsibility?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: insolvent estate with no will
It is not your legal responsibility to pay off the debts of the estate, and as filing costs money, if you feel so inclined to pay off your mother's debts from the estate, you could consider asking the creditors if they would want to pay a pro rata share of the cost of filing in probate, and receiving shares of the available assets. There is the possibility that there are other debts out there so you would want to file and publish the notice to creditors. If you are going to do something like that get the agreement on the share of the filing fee and the division of the assets. Remember though, you have no obligation to do anything.
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