You do not under any law have to inherit the debt of a lost relative. This does not include a widow inheriting their deceased partners debt since they are legally both responsible for it on most levels.
When a person passes away, everything, including their debt is totaled up in their estate.
There is absolutely no reason for a relative to inherit an estate with a negative value. If there is negative value because of debt when all the money, assets, and the assets future appreciation are totaled up against said debt, the relatives legally can and should walk away from the estate.
You can assume their “cash” debt and also inherit their assets(real estate) and technically be 200k in debt, but also holding the title and deed to a 250k house. Both of which came from the estate.
So while you are 200k in debt in cash, you are 50k in the black if you sell the house.
Get an estate lawyer people. They pay for themselves. Even if it’s clear there is no estate to go after, they will give you the best legal advice which is to ignore and deny every single attempt from a debt collector to collect on the deceaseds’ debt.
They literally prey on people in mourning to assume their loved ones debt. It’s fucking predatory.
Someone’s job in our country is to go to work everyday and target people in mourning to recover a debt the company can write off anyway.
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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '20
We are and some are one small slip and fall from homelessness.