Question about the estate of deceased man with no spouse or children...?

My brother-in-law passed away after spending a week in ICU. He had no wife or children and my husband was his only sibling. Both parents passed away a few years ago. He had no life insurance and no health insurance. My Husband has obtained a lawyer to be appointed guardian of his estate. We have started getting the hospital bills ....the hospital alone is 90 thousand dollars. We have yet to receive bills from the doctors. He had a few other debts he owed that total apx. 35 thousand dollars. The only thing he had of any value was a house and apx 2 acres of land. The value of this is apx 75 thousand dollars. Does anyone know of any type of agency that I can contact to help with the medical bills in this situation? or any of the bills owed by his estate.... We are trying to avoid having to sell the house and property.

He was 37 years old and his death was very unexpected.

It looks like you have an insolvent estate where the value of the estate may be worth less than the outstanding bills. The duty of a personal representative (executor or administrator) of an estate is to collect the assets, pay final tax returns, and pay creditors.

The good thing is that the expenses of administration will be paid off the top. After selling and liquidating assets, he will work with an attorney to determine the priority of payment of estate obligations. Some obligations will be paid in full, and some may only be paid a percentage according to state law.

You will most likely have to sell the house and property in order to pay the bills. There is a possibility that you may be able to negotiate a settlement with some of the creditors as others have suggested. I don't know of any agency that might pay the bills -- maybe a charity would, but I doubt it.

You may be able to BUY the house and property, but it would probably be best if the price were in accordance with a FNMA - FHLMC qualified certified real estate appraisal. Better yet, have the property advertised and sold at auction.

You should probably not pay any bills right away but rather have the court approve an accounting and proposed schedule of distribution before paying creditors. In that manner, you are best protected against personal liability.

uh.... the point of an intestate estate is to sell the assets and pay the bills. At the end, there will be creditors left unsatisfied. You might find some help thru the hospital financial aid office; but not 150k

Face unpleasant facts; you'll have to sell the house.

Sadly, this may be unavoidable. In the process of clearing out the estate, you will have to pay off all debts and liens. If there are assets, they must be sold to pay those debts. Your husband will receive the balance--be it a debt or cash. Unfortunately, once the individual is dead, it is entirely too late to talk estate planning.

I would just sell up. 75k will cover all?

I would ask all these questions to the lawyer that your husband hired. These things differ from state to state and are best left to an attorney that knows them and can advise you correctly.

unless u are going to live in the house. sell it.
approach hospital and see if u can settle for penny on dollars. give them first right of revesal.

unless u sign as payor , this is the best deal.
if u signed as payor , u got problems.

There are several agencies that might be able to help. You haven't mentioned anything about how old the man was or if he was a veteran, tradesman, or much of anything, really. I would contact Social Security for Medicare benefits, the state welfare office for medicaid, the VA if he was a WWII vet, his union if he was retired from a trade. Potentially, he even had health insurance that would pay for part or all of the medical bill.

I'm sure the attorney will fill your husband in on all of the ins and outs. As Executor or Administrator of the estate, your husband can charge reasonable fees to wrap up the estate of the deceased. In all likelihood, the house and land is worth considerably more than $75k.

Your husband will probably inherit under the law in your state's "Intestate statute". Those are the laws which dictate what happens to the estate when a person dies "intestate" defined as without a will.

If your husband is appointed "guardian of the estate", it will be his obligation to pay the decedent's outstanding debts from the resources of the estate.

That means he will likely have to sell the land and house pay the debts.

If the hospital bills are legitimate, and the house is only $75k, then there is no way you will be able to avoid selling the house... unless you yourself buy the house and/or pay the creditors.

I don't know of any charity that will pay medical bills of someone who is already deceased. Those organizations dedicate their funds to those who are alive, and need help with costly medical treatment.

On the bright side, if there is one, you, and your husband, are not responsible for the estate's debts. If the bills are significantly more than the assets, you can just walk away and let your county's public guardian take care of settling everything.