Estate responsible for medical bills?

Whether an estate is responsible for medical bills depends on several factors, including the laws of the jurisdiction where the estate is being administered and the specific terms of the deceased person's will and estate plan. In general, however, the following rules apply:

1) Debts of the estate: Medical bills and other debts of the deceased person generally become obligations of the estate. The estate's assets are used to pay these debts before any assets are distributed to beneficiaries.

2) Priority of debts: Medical bills are typically given a high priority in the payment of estate debts. This means that medical bills must be paid before other types of debts, such as credit card debt or personal loans.

3) Probate vs. non-probate assets: If the deceased person's estate is subject to probate, the court will oversee the payment of debts and distribution of assets. If the estate is not subject to probate, the terms of the deceased person's will or estate plan will determine who is responsible for paying medical bills.

4) Individual liability of beneficiaries: In some cases, beneficiaries of an estate may be held personally liable for the deceased person's medical bills. This is more likely to occur if the beneficiaries were responsible for the medical care or if they received assets from the estate that could be used to pay the medical bills.