Death in family- need some answers.

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure if this is the correct place for these questions, but I'll give it a shot.

My husband passed away 2 weeks ago. We are young and have no estate to speak of. We purchased our first home last April, but it is solely in my name because he had horrible credit. Both cars are in my name as well and he had no credit card debt.

He did, however, have around $10k in medical debts from the last year and around $40k in private student loan debts from about 6-8 yrs ago (one of which was co-signed by his father).

My question is- will these creditors try to come after me for payment on these debts? If so, am I able to fight it? We live in TX which is a community property state.

As I stated earlier, we have very little in savings and a new home with no equity. Also, we stupidly had no life insurance on him.

Thanks for any help you could give me.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure if this is the correct place for these questions, but I'll give it a shot.

My husband passed away 2 weeks ago. We are young and have no estate to speak of. We purchased our first home last April, but it is solely in my name because he had horrible credit. Both cars are in my name as well and he had no credit card debt.

He did, however, have around $10k in medical debts from the last year and around $40k in private student loan debts from about 6-8 yrs ago (one of which was co-signed by his father).

My question is- will these creditors try to come after me for payment on these debts? If so, am I able to fight it? We live in TX which is a community property state.

As I stated earlier, we have very little in savings and a new home with no equity. Also, we stupidly had no life insurance on him.

Thanks for any help you could give me.

---

First I just want to say sorry for your husband passing away. 

While concerning yourself with the possible credit woe's is something you will have to deal with eventually, now may not be the best time. Too much emotional stress may become to much of a burden to deal with so quickly. The decision to deal with it quickly or not is ultimately up to you. 

Now back to the topic.

You can inherit debt from a spouse who passed away in a community property state.

Your best advice would come from an attorney on how to handle his debt and if you are legally responsible for paying such debt. 

The co-signed loan would be responsible by the co-signee in most cases.

Discussing this with an attorney who deals with community property would be the best option.

Good Luck and once again sorry for the passing away of your husband.

[MarineVietVet]

I am so sorry this has happened to you. I agree that you need to talk to a lawyer about this. It's very important to get this correct.

I wish you the best. Please let us know how this turns out.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure if this is the correct place for these questions, but I'll give it a shot.

My husband passed away 2 weeks ago. We are young and have no estate to speak of. We purchased our first home last April, but it is solely in my name because he had horrible credit. Both cars are in my name as well and he had no credit card debt.

He did, however, have around $10k in medical debts from the last year and around $40k in private student loan debts from about 6-8 yrs ago (one of which was co-signed by his father).

My question is- will these creditors try to come after me for payment on these debts? If so, am I able to fight it? We live in TX which is a community property state.

As I stated earlier, we have very little in savings and a new home with no equity. Also, we stupidly had no life insurance on him.

Thanks for any help you could give me.

---

You should not be liable for the student loans even in a community property state.

The medical debts, however, are another story.  Even in states that are not community property, medical debts of one spouse can usually be enforced against the other spouse.  Whether or not the medical care providers will go after you is uncertain. 

Once things settle down, you might want to see a local attorney. 

[MattH]

Like the others, I am deeply sorry for your loss.  Also I agree with the others that you must call a lawyer who is familiar with Texas laws very soon.  Few of us on these boards are lawyers, even fewer of us are lawyers who have practiced in Texas, and none of us have all the specific details that would be needed to provide you with specific advice.

In addition, if you are a member of any faith tradition I would suggest you consult a priest/minister/rabbi/guru/elder or other appropriate leader.  After my sister's death in a 2007 auto accident, clergy and laity at my church were extremely helpful for me as I worked through the shock.