Can a family members be held liable for debts of the estate?
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Can a family members be held liable for debts of the estate?
After my father passed away 2 years ago, my older brother was appointed as the administrator of his estate . A year after he passed away I started get hounded by the probate attorney about my brother’s whereabouts. Come to find out that he didn’t pay the attorney, nor any bills that came through probate, and still owed me money as well. Recently, I received paperwork saying that my siblings and I are being sued by the funeral home because of lack of payment. Am I legally bound to pay since I wasn’t the administrator of the estate?
Asked on January 12, 2012 under Estate Planning, Illinois
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss and for the problems that have resulted. Generally speaking, the estate is liable for the bills that were not paid and now, your brother can be held accountable because he breached his fiduciary duty. The probalem you may have is with the funeral bill. most times the funeral parlor has the family memebers sign a guarantee regarding the funeral. Do you have that paperwork? Look at it. And then find your brother and set things straight. Good luck.
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