If I die, can my creditors really charge my son with my dept?

Question

The loan, credit card and insurance companies are all about making people feel guilty about leaving dept behind after death. But could any of these companies really transfer my dept to my son and force him to pay it or ruin his credit rating if he didn't? I say there is no way, and they are just carrying on a scam when they imply that could happen. Does anyone know for sure? (I live in Florida)

Answer 1

When someone dies, their estate is responsible for paying their debts not their family.

If the estate is worth enough to pay all of the debt, great. If not, then the creditors are out of luck.

Now, if in your will you leave you Son all of your stuff, then it could get sticky because they can come after anything that is part of your estate.

And as far as ruining his credit, that is a load of you know what. There is nothing they can do to him as long as he is not signatory to the contracts.

Answer 2

This really does happen all the time. Sometimes it isn't a problem because after death the debts go away (sale of assets, etc) but often if a home has been borrowed against there is nothing to leave behind other than debt. There are many ways for creditors to get the money back, one way being to sue your children.

Answer 3

If you die, the credit card companies (and other people you owe) can put a lien against your estate. They get the first payment from anything you own (house, car, etc). Insurance that has your estate as the beneficiary would also be included but not if it is paid to an individual. If your assets do not cover your debts, they can not force someone else to pay them but they will threaten them.

Answer 4

Is your son on any of these loans? Did you use his ss# to obtain any of these debts?

If no, then no they can't transfer the debt to him. If you have an estate when you die, the estate must come up with the money first and then what (if any) is left over goes to your son or spouse.

It doesn't matter which state you live in, it is the same across the US.

Answer 5

When my mother passed away she left several credit cards with rather large balances. If the card is in your name only and your son's name is no where on the card, loan, etc. then they cannot legally pass on the debt to him. They will do everything they can to get him to pay your debts but he is not legally bound to pay it. Your spouse on the other hand is a different story, your spouse is legally responsible for all your debts.

Answer 6

No , they can not make him pay for it , but when your son files everything with probate court , which he will have to do to transfer everything out of your name , you better believe they will be waiting in the probate computer system like a pack of vultures...We are going through this now , my girlfriends dad lived with us , he passed in Jan , all this poor man had was several bags of clothes ,NO life insurance , he had already put his vehicle in our name , so they can not touch that ,so we did not have to file anything through probate court , they threaten to put a lean on my house , but they can not do that ,and I told them a thing or two , then they tried to get me to change the account to my name , I told them , I thought credit cards sucked ,and I did not wish to do that , so these wise , great people of intelligence, and higher education of the credit card company asked me if we had a "forwarding" address of the deceased ? .I gave them 777 Pearl Gate Estates, They probably tried to mail him there too , If you have life insurance , it will be filed through the funeral home , the remainder of the money will be held in probate , then all of the companies will file a claim through probate to get their share , all companies that you have open accounts with are automatically notified by the Social Security Admin. so they will find out . My mother has her homes , cars ,and other properties paid for , but she has a moderate amount of credit card debt. She has already put everything in my name so they can not touch anything . She has no life insurance , that money was invested , and doubled , it is now in a large savings account in my name . there is enough to give her a nice funeral , and divide up among her grandchildren , they are going to need it lots more than I do . Strategic planning is the key

Answer 7

If you are really worried get some life insurance so you dont have to worry about it. If you cant do that, I will explain it every simply.

***** HELL NO *****

Unless he signed on those accounts. It would be the same as if my next door neighbor died, and the credit card company comes to me and says you owe this money. I say why? They said you are the next door neighbor. Thats how ridculous your question is.

If he signed on your accounts yes he has to pay them, if he isnt on them, read the above again.

Answer 8

This is not very helpful, is it? You receive all sorts of answers.

Your debt goes to your estate. The people who loaned you money are not the ones responsible for your debts. They are usually paid from teh sale of all of your belongings. If that does not cover the amount of money you borrowed it does to next of kin, not your children per se. The order goes on from here, but here are the first 4:

Spouse
Child
Parent
Sibling

Answer 9

If he is not a co-signer, then no they cannot. Their job is to be the biggest @ssholes they can. They will work the guilt and fear buttons as much as possible. Read up on their limits though - because many of them overstep their boundaries. If you can catch them doing that, you can turn them in and cause more pain and agony for them than they could possibly do to you. Don't fall for their intimidation.

Answer 10

I believe they can not go after anyone else, except for a co-applicant or, in some states a spouse.
However, any creditor can file an action with the "orphans" court to recoup monies from your estate.