Will Children Have to Pay the Debts of Their Parents?
Transcript:
Hi. I'm Jordan Flake, and I'm an attorney with Clear Counsel Law Group. One of the questions we get a lot in our probate practice is are the children going to be liable for the taxes or the creditors of the deceased individual? Obviously, think about it. If your mom and dad were to rack up a lot of debt, or taxes, or maybe have a judgment against them, you would legitimately be concerned whether or not those debts were going to come after you when they pass away. The answer is Nevada does not hold children responsible for the debts of their parents; however, you must understand also at the same time that the assets left behind by the deceased individual are responsible for the debts.
Let's say that there's a creditor. Let's just take VISA, a VISA card for $10,000.00, and your mom passes away, and she has a bank account that has $100,000.00, then that $100,000.00 bank account, if it goes into probate, would be liable for the $10,000.00 debt; however, that mom's actual children wouldn't themselves be expected to take money out of their pocket to pay off that debt. Just kind of a simplified answer is an estate is responsible for the decedents' deaths; however, the children are not. If you have a loved one who's passed away and left debts, Clear Counsel Law Group can help you resolve those debts and handle the probate so that, hopefully, we can maximize your inheritance and not the money that goes to the creditors. Feel free to give Clear Counsel Law Group a call.
