I am executor of my father’s will. Can I sign his checks to pay his hospital debts without going to probate?
by admin ~ September 1st, 2006 . Filed under: Law & Ethics .
lgsungot asked:
The only asset he has left is his stimulus check and last retirement check, probably less than $900.00. His know liabilities is approximately $2400. in hospital bill his insurance won’t pay.
The only asset he has left is his stimulus check and last retirement check, probably less than $900.00. His know liabilities is approximately $2400. in hospital bill his insurance won’t pay.
I am from the island of Guam, US territory.
Brande Decarr
September 3rd, 2006 at 11:53 pm
You should be fine paying the hospital.
September 4th, 2006 at 4:21 am
I can’t say for sure about Guam, but I can’t think of any US state where it would be legal for you to write checks on your deceased father’s account without either being named on the account or being appointed as executor by the court.
Having said that, with $900 in assets and $2400 in debt, the estate is insolvent and the costs of probate would almost certainly exceed the assets. Unless you somehow guaranteed his hospital bills, you have no personal liability here for your dad’s debts and can’t get into trouble for them unless of course you start writing checks on his account. So I would think the best thing is to let the hospital know he is deceased, that there will not be a probate, and just walk away.
As an aside, if he is retired then he should have been eligible for medicare which pays most of the doctor bills. If he also had insurance, then that normally covers the remainder, so there should not be much in the way of bills. Do you know if the bills have been submitted to both medicare and insurance?
September 6th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
Is your father dead? If not, you have no standing wrt his affairs. Executors only operate once a person has died. In order to do what you want to do, you would need to have Power of Attorney.