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My parents are really worried about all of there medical bills being past down to my brother and I.
Anonymous5 views3 answers
My brother lives away and I live with my parents. What can we do to lessen any chance of this from happening? Would changing ownership of the house and cars help? My father was the main insured, but his job cut his insurance without telling him and went bankrupt. Of course, this was before all the medical problems. Any ideas?
When a person dies with debts, those debts become debts of his estate. The executor is responsible for paying the debts of the estate out of the estate's assets. If there are insufficient assets to satisfy the estate's debts, the estate is insolvent. The children of someone who does do not become responsible for their parent's debts. So medical bills don't get "passed down" to children. But they do get paid out of the assets of an estate. Your parents should see a specialist in estate planning who help them pass the assets they own to their offspring.
Not legal advice as I'm not licensed in West Virginia. If you need legal advice, please consult a lawyer who holds West Virginia licensure.
I agree with Mr. Taylor. The debts are the estate's responsibility and do not pass down to you and your brother. However, I understand you live your your parents, and thus you should be very careful to never sign any documents at a hospital, doctor's office, etc, which may obligate you to pay any portion of his medical expenses. I strongly encourage you to get with a qualified estate planning (or elder law) attorney as soon as possible. They can help your parents plan for the distribution of their assets - and in this instance, Medicaid planning opportunities may be available as well.
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