Taxation & Estate Planning

5 Tips for Dealing with Claims: Introduction

By Joel A. Schoenmeyer

This post starts a series regarding reducing (or minimizing) claims in the probate estate context. A couple of notes before I begin:

1. The claims I'm talking about here are your "typical" claims in probate, for a decedent's debts -- things like credit card bills, medical bills, and the like. I am NOT addressing secured claims (like the mortgage on a decedent's home), government claims, or claims for administrative expenses (post-death claims like funeral expenses or attorney fees). That's because there's very little, if anything, you can do to reduce these types of claims.

2. Different people have different views about debt. Some people feel like a debt is a debt -- if the decedent owed it, and it's a valid debt, it must be repaid. Others feel like, "the creditors have their team of experts trying to maximize what is owed -- I need to have someone on MY side." I don't always agree with the latter view, but it's at these people that this series is directed. My feeling is that I'm a lawyer, not an ethicist. I will tell you what the law allows, and it's up to you to decide how far you wish to go.

Full post as published by Death and Taxes Blog on November 13, 2009 (boomark / email).