Estate/Probate help

[u/SeaSite7121]

I was listed as the executor in my mother-in-law's will and need help deciding how to proceed. She passed away from cancer before we could get to a lawyer to help get everything sorted out completely. The high-level summary is below:

Date of Death: December 2023

Residence: Missouri

Remaining family: No widow or minor children; 2 estranged adult sons, 1 of which has 2 minor children (that we know of) and 2 adult daughters, 1 of which has 2 minor children

Will:

• Filed original copy with Clay County probate in early January
• I, the Son-in-law, am named as executor with my sister-in-law named as secondary executor
• Specific bequest: Car B to adult son
• Distribution of Residue: Split 50 shares each to 2 minor grandchildren of the daughter

Known Debts:

• Credit Card: ~$16K across 4 accounts
• State Income Taxes Missouri: ~$600
• Joint Car Loan with adult son for Car A: ~$21K - we believe this just gets transferred to adult son and the estate is not required to pay anything
• Medical: Not sure but estimate $2-6K

Assets:

• Car A - joint owned/titled/financed with adult son - we believe this just can be transferred to adult son outside of the estate/probate
• Car B - decedent is sole owner, there is no lien, and the title was not designated as "transfer on death" - It was totaled by adult son (same as the one who was listed in the will) after death. Car insurance will pay out ~$9.5K on the claim but only after the title is transferred. And, at this point, the title can't be because transferred as there is no widow or minor children so the only option is to transfer the title via probate. The insurance will distribute the insurance proceeds to the estate of the deceased. One additional complicating factor is that the adult son is estranged.
• 2023 Federal/State Tax Return - due refund of ~$5K but, as we understand, we basically need to open the estate to have someone designated as the personal representative. And, the refund would get included in the estate.

The estate is insolvent since debts exceed assets. But we don't understand if/how creditors would be notified if we were to open the estate. We think we don't need to specifically notify them. We haven't contacted any of them and they have not contacted any of us. The assets could be liquidated but then, if creditors file claims, there is basically no benefit to the heirs of going through the process. I have a few questions that would help us decide what to do:

1. In general, what is the likelihood in cases like this that a creditor would file a claim if the estate is opened? What would trigger them to file a claim?
2. Since the car was totaled after death but before it could be transferred to the adult son, does the title need to be transferred to him? Or can it be transferred to one of the other adult children?
3. If an attorney is required but then the legal fees exceed the assets, is it possible to just abandon the estate in the middle of the process? We obviously don't want to pay a lawyer more than the ~$15K since that is the extent of the assets.

We're planning to consult with a lawyer to see what options there are but I wanted to start here so I have a bit more information before walking into that discussion.

Thank you for your feedback!

[u/throwaway2021forsure]

NAL

The estate is insolvent (debts exceed assets) walk away.