If my husband dies and I am not the benifitiary do I have to pay off all of his debt?

Question

My husband has a heart condition where he is eventually going to have to have heart surgery, it is pretty routine but this is just something we have discussed because you never know. We have only been married a year and he has been screwed over in the past by an ex wife so he is not very trusting. If something were to happen t him he wants me to take his children and raise him, they are the benificiaries. Nothing is in my name, not our home or vehicle, he refuses to put my name on anything, we don't even have any joint accounts. I am an extremely honest and loyal person but he does not like all my spending habits. He says that I will have to pay some of his debt if anything happened to him and it has worried me a bit so I was just looking for some answers. Thankyou to all who have been replying

Answer 1

Talk to a lawyer that specializes in it.

My understanding is that it comes out of his estate, but I could see where the wife might be responsible. If you are also on any of the "debt" (credit cards, mortgage, loans, etc), you may be the one that pays by default.

If your husband isn't making you the beneficiary, then I would take my name off of everything that his name is on, and make sure that I am not liable for anything. If I was, I would make him take out a separate life insurance policy that named me as the beneficiary so I could pay off the debt.

Answer 2

I regretfully could desire to disagree STRONGLY with Zahbudar. the government would not indiscriminately take 50 % of an sources if there is not any will. An escheat (government takes proceeds) purely occurs whilst someone dies without a will and there is quite no relative that could take by distribution. First, the valuables of the decedent (ineffective person) does certainly could desire to pay no longer purely taxes yet in addition all different costs and liabilities in his call, with little exception. The beneficiary of existence coverage proceesd takes difficulty to federal and state present and sources taxes (which selection from state to state. under the federal regulation, the valuables tax applies whilst the lifetime reward given by the insured exceeds an extremely intense volume (over $2.0 million or so). Husband could desire to execute a will and incorporate an "abatement" provision. This specifies the order for which the valuables's liabilities and taxes are to be paid. yet another selection is to create a spendthrift believe. A spendthrift believe is a believe it is created for the earnings of someone that provides an self sufficient trustee finished authority to make judgements as to how the believe funds may be spent for the earnings of the beneficiary. lenders of the beneficiary many times can no longer attain the money interior the believe, and the money are no longer actual under the administration of the beneficiary. for sure those are intense questions that an sources making plans lawyer could desire to help with. yet it extremely is a start up. sturdy success!

Answer 3

This is not a simple question, because the type of debt and the state also matter. I hate it when people give uninformed answers. And, this is why we always have to tell you to see an attorney in your state.

There are community property states, such as Texas and perhaps CA, maybe others. They are different from states where a husband and wife own property separately.

I know a few years ago, my ex-wife died in Florida, owing maybe $20,000 in credit card debt. The company simply wrote it off, and made no attempt to collect from the estate. That was one credit card company, and that was Florida.

It also makes a difference which type of debt it is. In non-community property states, a spouse can often only be held responsible for ncessities involving spousal debt. For example, basic living cost debt the spouse can be forced to pay, whereas not for luxuries.

Also, as someone said, if you had joint accounts, then it is more likely you will be expected to pay since it is your account.

This is a perfect example of a bad idea to try to get legal advice from dummies on the Web. Not just because any dummy can answer, such as the one who said divorce him -- what a jerk! But, because even those who might have some knowledge would need a lot more information than you tend to give. I guarantee you if you go to an attorney, you will need to give a lot more info to get an answer of value.

Of course, a general rule is the probate courts first expect the deceased person's estate to pay the deceased person's debts before they look at anyone else, and if he has the money in his own name, thus in his own estate, that will pay debts before anyone gets a cent.

Also, life insurance normally is only the property of the benificiary, not part of the estate, except the thieving lawyers get to count it as part of the estate when they figure their cut for legal expenses.

Others seem to take this question as pending death of a sick man. I tend to view it as a healthy man who tends to spend a lot he doesn't have, and a wife who worries about the long term results of that as it affects her..

Answer 4

the debts will be paid through probate before the beneficiary gets the money/assets.

if there is not enough to pay the debts, then the heirs get nothing.

its not like the beneficiary gets the money and the debt too. the debt gets taken of first.

for any debt left over after the estate is gone....the creditor loses that money...UNLESS it is your debt too. As you are married, a lot of the debt will be marital debt...thus you'll be responsible for it after the estate is all used up. But make sure that you don't pay any debt that isn't marital debt...the creditors will make it seem like you have to pay....but you don't if its not marital debt.

p.s. if your husband has a will and he cuts you out of it, you have some rights to take either a half or a third....ask a lawyer which it would be for you....as your dower right.

Answer 5

And you married this guy? Guess what? You are 50% responsible for his debts now and 100% when he dies!
I think you have to sit down and make a consciencious decision here! Why would you want to be married to someone like that in the first place? Marriage is supposed to be a loving, trusting, and consensual contract bewteen two people! Where do you fit into that picture?
You might want to sit down and give considerable thought to where you're headed!
Or better yet, see where your head is!

Answer 6

Your His wife so U will be held Lible 4 everything.When My Step Father Died My Mom had 2 pay all his bills even though his kids got everything they didn't help with nothing not even the Funeral.Get him to change His Will ASAP.Good Luck

Answer 7

everything will be given to probate before it gets to the beneficially. it handled through the trust or whatever and you may have to pay off his debt since you were married to him. if there were any bills and if there were put in your name. The other thing I would get a lawyer would be my advice.

Answer 8

File for divorce now & make sure the stipulations state he is responsible for all his own debts.

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For the guy below: I said divorce him before the details were posted, so you have to understand the timeliness of the post vs. the replies. Not being mean about it, just problem-solving as to her issue with the original Q. before the "details" were added. So there.

Answers is here for everyone to give input, not just "professionals only." If you want a "professionals only forum," I suggest you find one and your license or certification and name can be posted for all to see and then you can also be held liable for the info you give. No one here suggests this is hard core legal advice - it's about opinions/ideas.

Everyone here is not a Dummy - that's inconsiderate.

Answer 9

If your husband dies and you aren't the beneficiary why is he still your husband?

Answer 10

if you are legally married, his depts are your depts...sorry