Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington

Re: How long do creditors have to make claims against an estate?

Depends. Was a Notice to Creditors sent to the source of the medical bill or published in a local legal newspaper? If so, there is a four month statute of limitations. If not, I believe the limitations period is 24 months. Theoretically the creditor could attempt to collect the balance due from the creditors. However, it may not be worth the creditor's time to do so. Also, creditors are paid off AFTER funeral expenses, final medical expenses (may include this creditor), executor fees, etc. Perhaps the executor could assert that he took the few thousand as his payment as executor in which case the creditors would be out of luck. It may be the case that simply ignoring the issue may make the creditor go away. However, your brother, as executor, should probably visit with an attorney to discuss the matter so that sound advice is provided after consideration of all the facts, some of which I am sure were not included in your brief inquiry.

Hope this helps.