Questions about deceased estate

[Zen of Conscious Living]

Death Certificate

You don't have to pay any of her bills. Just send a Death Certificate along with her bill and they will write it off. If they keep sending you bills, just keep sending in a copy of the Death Cert and they will stop. My brother got killed on his motorcycle and my (poor) mom was making his payments on his bills (minimum) and she was told just to send in a copy of his death certificate with the bill and soon after the bills stopped coming. These were your mom's debts, not yours. They make a ton of money on interest and payments. You are good just to prove to them that she is no longer with us on earth.

 

[marion10]

I am finishing up my father’s estate now. It has been pretty easy- complicated only by his being on Medicaid. I was TOD on his checking account. I googled “ small estates Maryland” and got very clear instructions from the registrar of wills ( that’s who handles this in his county), I had to to file a petition to be named administrator - the fee for that was $50. The court also had to publish a notice of death to creditors- that was $35. I paid funeral expenses from the TOD account( transferred to me) and submitted those receipts. Then I received letters of administration. With the letters of administration, I got a taxpayer ID from the IRS and then opened up an estate account. The only party who made a claim against the estate was Maryland Medicaid. The bill is more than his assets so I will be sending the remainder in the account to them and telling all other claimants, so sad, too bad.

 

[yclipse]

Do not rely on Kiplinger articles for information like this. In most states, money that passes under a TOD designation is not part of the probate estate and is not subject to creditors' claims.

 

[marion10]

It was for Maryland law- your mileage may vary.