My father passed and is divorced. I am his Daugherty, and was his POA,. Can any of his debts/collectors come to me to pay his debts he still owes?

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My father passed and is divorced. I am his Daugherty, and was his POA,. Can any of his debts/collectors come to me to pay his debts he still owes?

My father recently passed. Before he became seriously ill (ALS disease), he made arrangements to liquidate all of his assets and made me his POA. At his requests, I managed his income and debts. In order to take care of him in my home, he was placed on a medicaid spend down so he could obtain a health home agency to help me care for him, so that I could continue to work. The spend down left him with a sm monthly amount to live and pay his bills. He has passed and still has some pending debts owed. His income has stopped and there is no estate money. So, there is no money to pay his debts.

Asked on June 29, 2009 under Estate Planning, Virginia

Answers:

J.M.A., Member in Good Standing of the Connecticut Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 14 years ago | Contributor

I am a lawyer in CT and practice in this area of the law.    Unless you are a co-signor or guarantor for any of the debts, you cannot be sued at all.  Simply having POA means that you make certain decisions on your dad's behalf.  It does not mean that you take full responsibility for his debts.  The creditors can get all the judgments they want.  they will not be able to come after you.


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