Susan, my condolences also.

In my own situation, from past family deaths, it can take a very long time for the legal aspects to be worked out.  Those wheels can grind slowly.

As others have said, I would also strongly suggest that you not pay estate bills out of your own funds.  While from your description things may look "clean" (and they probably are) you never know what might be lurking, and you don't want to risk finding yourself in the "she-is-paying-estate-bills-out-of-her-own-pocket-so-we-will-seek-reimbursement-from-her-for-X-Y-Z-AA-BB,-etc."  It is probably not a good idea to risk exposing yourself to potential unknown liabilities.

As others have said, I am not a lawyer so I cannot give real legal advice, and as others have also said, it would be worth giving the Florida Bar Association a call.

Hi Susan,

My condolences also. What a mess this must be for you. I have to agree with Jim (noldar12) on this. I'm not from Florida, but my mother passed away in 07. My father felt he had to pay her debts off, so he did and he didn't have to. Mom had no estate. She left us enough money to bury her. The bills were in her name, they were her debts. You shouldn't have to pay the debts of someone else on your own, especially if you are not the executor. As bad as it is to say, it's Uncle Bill's problem unless there is a legal binding via attorney that he has appointed you the executor. It's not a matter of JUST a piece of paper that he signs...it has to happen with an attorney.

If it has happened that way, all medical bills are then up to you to pay if you decide you want to keep his condo. The smart thing to do is to liquidate Dad's assets so they pay the bills and it's done with. Whatever is left over debt wise if you fall short, you tell them to pound sand up their @sses if you sell everything and it still isn't enough to cover the bills. The estate pays the bills. When the estate is dissolved, it's game over for the people that are owed money too.

Don't let anyone scare you. They can't do a thing and are saying the same crap to the other 300,000 people that owe them money. I'd definitely not pay any of dad's bills though...they are not your bills to pay. Your best bet is to hire an attorney in Florida and pay a few bucks that way instead of paying the debts of your father. This way you'll be protected by someone that knows Florida law. Good luck Susan....and hey, though this is a sad topic, it is nice to see you back here. Wish you were still around like the old days. Take care.

-Danny

One note... and I'm not an attorney on this..... 

If you willing pay the bills of someone else, you should be aware of the state laws regarding that. It could make you the responsible party for the bills. State laws are tricky and many times are set up and written to protect the company which is owed the money, not the debtor. 

Before you sign a check to pay anything out of your pocket be aware of the laws in Florida.

Example: An unsettled and written off debt after 7 years in most states is noncollectable. But the company will often sell that debt to a collection agency for pennies on the dollar.  If the collection agency gets someone to pay a single dollar on that noncollectable debt the 7 years restarts and it is now collectible again.  So be careful. 

Good luck Susan....and hey, though this is a sad topic, it is nice to see you back here. Wish you were still around like the old days. Take care.

That's very sweet, Danny, and I appreciate it! I did finally install the X2 demo, but that's another story for another day...


I appreciate the warnings about paying my Dad's bills out-of-pocket and I'll be careful going forward, but trust me when I say he lived a *very* simple life on Social Security the past few decades or so and I don't think there any creditors who will come out of the woodwork and make a claim against his "estate" after all this time. I'm quite sure he would have told me if he'd known of any, and if some creditor does show up I'd still feel as though it's my moral if not legal obligation to pay them. There's literally no one else responsible.


Thanks again-


-Susan

Susan, I can well understand why you would take that position... on the one hand you can make a strong case that it is the "right" thing to do.  The difficulty comes when factoring in those who will take advantage of someone going through this type of difficult situation.  So, again, do be careful.

And as Danny said, it is good to see you back here, even if it is under such unfortunate circumstances.

Thanks, Jim, and sorry for the (very) the late reply.
 
Just to wrap this up in case it helps someone else: I did get a judge-approved Order of Summary Administration just last week. The wrinkle was that Dad's will wasn't "self-proving," so even though it was witnessed, it couldn't be submitted to Probate in Florida as-was. It took a while to get the surviving witness to return the Oath of Witness to the Legal Aid attorney who then appeared before the court on my behalf and got it all settled. Quite a relief.
 
Moral of the story: Make sure your will (if you have one, and you probably should, even if you're hale and hearty, since you never know...) is not only witnessed but notarized.
 
It was less than six months from Dad's passing to this point (and I take it that's a relatively short span in the grand scheme of things) but there was a lot of anxiety and expense and stuff that could've been avoided if his will had been notarized. That just wasn't the kind of thing he thought about.
 
Thanks again, all.
 
-Susan