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The most difficult time in your life might also be the time when you most need to bring it all together commercially and move on. If your husband, wife, mother, father, child or brother or sister dies, you need to know your rights and responsibilities and know what to do next. Here is some information to help you.
⢠Social Security. If you are a spouse. If your husband or wife dies and their social security was higher than yours, then the net effect will be that you will eventually receive the same monthly allowance that he or she would have received or, if your allowance was higher, it will remain the same. In both cases, you only receive one benefit, the higher of the two. You can also claim a small death benefit of $ 255.
⢠The will may or may not need to be probated. Probate involves the executor filing the will in the register of wills and registering it to establish an estate. If you are a spouse and everything was titled jointly, including your residence and your bank and investment accounts, and you have been named the beneficiary of the life insurance and pension accounts, it may not be necessary to approve. If you are not sure, consult an elder or estate lawyer. Our office advises you frequently on this matter.
⢠Social Security. You could delay closing a bank account that is only titled in the name of the deceased. Consider the automatic deductions from the account. Also, if you close the account that receives Social Security checks too early, the government could cancel the payment for the month of death, resulting in a negative balance. Note that funeral directors are often useful both for informing Social Security, so you don’t have to, and for providing death certificates – as many as you need and you may need more than one. . Be sure to discuss these matters with the funeral director.
⢠Tax advice. Elder Law and estate planning attorneys are accustomed to giving advice on whether or not taxes are owed and can be helpful in this regard.
⢠Creditors. You should not assume that just because you are the deceased’s next of kin that survived, you are necessarily responsible for that person’s bills. Invoices will follow the estate of the deceased person first and Pennsylvania and other states have specific rules regarding how invoices are to be paid for an “insolvent estate”, that is, an estate where bills are higher than assets. If you are dealing with an insolvent estate, the state in which your loved one was residing at the time of death indicates a distribution order in which the bills must be paid. In Pennsylvania, at the very top are administration fees such as filing fees, executor fees and attorney fees, and payment of funeral bills. Don’t pay the credit card bills first if you think there aren’t enough in the estate to pay all the bills. In Pennsylvania, medical bills, including Medicaid payments for medical care incurred within six months of a person’s death, have a higher priority than older medical bills. Credit card bills are unsecured debt and are at the bottom of the pile.
If there is a secured debt, such as a loan on a car, the creditor could take the vehicle.
Usually, other people are not owed on the debts of the deceased, but there are exceptions. While collection agencies can call after a loved one has passed away, they often don’t know who owes what and under what conditions, and they often don’t care, so if you’re unsure of your rights, check with a lawyer or someone who knows the rules.
There are people who can be responsible for the debts of a deceased person. If you co-signed a loan or secured payment on debt, you could be held liable. A spouse, under the “necessities” doctrine could be required to pay certain specific bills relating to the maintenance of a deceased husband or wife, such as housing or care, but not for other bills. . Get help if you are unsure.
The direct beneficiaries of life insurance policies and the joint owners of property would generally not be liable for the general debts of the estate.
Proceed carefully. Help is available.
Janet Colliton, Esq. is a licensed elderlaw lawyer and limits her practice to elderlaw, retirement, life care, special needs, estate planning and administration with offices at 790 East Market St., Suite . 250, West Chester, PA 19382, 610-436-6674, [email protected]. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and, along with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, co-founder of Life Transition Services, LLC, a service for families in need of long-term care. Tune in to WCHE 1520 âA Plan Aheadâ radio station, featuring Janet Colliton, Colliton Elder Law Associates, and Ron Ehman, Next Home Signature.
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