Today we talk about how long creditors can submit bills on an estate in probate…
Imagine a scenario where you are personal representative of an estate. You do your best to accumulate all the bills, you talk to everyone who is entitled to get everything.
You pay all the bills and distribute the assets and you think everything is good.
A year goes by.
Then, almost two years later you get a bill.
It’s from the hospital, and it’s BIG.
You aren’t sure what to do because it’s been so long. Do you even have to pay the bill? And if so, how do you get the money to do that?
Creditors Have Two Years To Submit Bills in Probate
By law, creditors have two full years to submit a bill in probate.
If a legitimate claim is made, it must be paid out of estate assets.
What does that mean for you, the executor? It means going and talking to everyone you gave money to and asking for it back.
Two years seems like such a long time to have to wait though. And it seems like a very long time or all of the assets in the estate to be tied up.
There is a Way to Shorten the Creditor Claim Period in Probate
Because two years is such a long time, the law allows you reduce that time period from two years to only four months, if you follow the correct procedures.
Those procedures include filing notice with the court and then publishing notice of the estate in a newspaper for three consecutive weeks.
After that, once four months has elapsed, you are good do to go (from creditors that you don’t know of – creditors you do know of you have to pay), no one can submit any more bills against the estate.
There you go, another estate planning question answered on The #RichLifeLawyer Show!
Christopher Small is a Seattle estate planning attorney who helps people get rich and live forever. He is also the owner of CMS Law Firm LLC.
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my free ebook: “7 Estate Planning Mistakes Every Family Needs to Avoid.” It’s packed full of helpful information to help you get everything you want out of life (and after life).
