Tag Archives: debts
An Inheritance of Debt
“He left me nothing but bills. Do I have to pay them?”
Unfortunately, many folks who have lost a loved one quickly find that the deceased had accrued substantial debt. Survivors are often then left with the challenges of managing this debt both ethically and legally. While the moral issue is something that should be understood, the legal obligation is what concerns most people. The usual question asked is “Do I owe the debt of a deceased family member?” The answer may shock you.
If a deceased person originated a debt that he/she alone accrued, then he/she was responsible, and you are not. In this case you should rest easy because you would have no legal obligation to pay the debt. However the debt of a dead relative may affect you due to possible responsibility of their estate to make right those obligations, thereby leaving a lot less inheritance to heirs.
There are usually only two circumstances where you may be legally responsible for a relatives debts. The first case is when you are a co-signer on obligations of the individual. This would happen when you and the deceased were co-signers on a loan such as a credit card account or a property mortgage. In those cases you were jointly and severally (together and individually) obligated. Just because one of the parties obligated for a debt passes away, it does not relieve the surviving party of their responsibility.
The other possible obligation scenario is if you are the spouse of the deceased person and you live in what is referred to as a “community property” state. These states include Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. If you live in these states and your husband or wife dies, you will want to seek counsel from an estate attorney.
Another issue comes in feeling a moral obligation to pay a deceased relatives debts even though there is no legal obligation to do so. Before you consider this option you should take into consideration how the loss of the funds in question will affect you and your familys current and long term security. In addition, you should recognize that companies that loan money know that a certain number of their debtors will pass away owing them money. They compensate for this reality in the fees and interest they charge their entire customer base. So, the pay off of debts owed by a deceased person, by a relative, can be viewed as bonus profits for the company in question instead of an unexpected loss.
You will note that most companies protect themselves from the possibility of loss by getting multiple signers on debt instruments and placing liens on collateral such as real property, automobiles, equipment, etc so that they can either take ownership of the assets or force their sale in order to satisfy the debt. If you choose to pay off a relatives debt when you have no legal obligation to do so, that is your choice, but be sure to consider all aspects of the action before you do so.
Decide on a Loan with Care
You could be considering accepting one of the hundreds of advertised proposal on TV and newspapers for a personal loan which will combine all your debts into a single account for easier management of payments. Prior to calling them and filling out that form, you have to assess your present state of affairs and the possible repercussions on your finances. Because all these proposals are sugar coated to entice you to get their facilities yet they are not as perfect a solution as the lending companies make it appear to be.br>
It is but natural for a lot of individuals to look at exceptional deals with cynicism, and ask, “Whats the catch?” For most of us, when it comes to consolidation loans, we generally just look at the amount that can be borrowed and the corresponding monthly payments, disregarding the other terms and conditions of the contract.
Loan companies know the general psyche of a potential borrower only too well, so the proposals highlight only the loan amount and the monthly payments to determine which loan term we can afford to pay, without detailing what portion of the payment is actually going to the principal debt.
We have been made to believe that by combining all our loans, it will simplify debt repayment. What we do not look into more closely is how many years will it take you to pay back that loan and how much the total payout will amount to. No matter how light the monthly repayment scheme is made to appear, computing it against the total number of months, for instance 60 of months, of repayment could give an unbelievably staggering amount.
Put the payment terms in an annual setting and see if that will not change your entire perspective. After doing that, the next question you will ask yourself is will you want to be saddled with such a debt for five long years. If that looks okay with you, the next thing you have to do is compute how much will this consolidation loan going to cost you given the 5 year term. This might jolt you to reality and change your mind completely.
Generally, interest rates for these types of loans fluctuate from year to year. Sometimes they could go down and that will be good for you, but most of the time it is on the uptrend. So if you finally decide to consolidate your debt, dont just look at the monthly repayment affordability but the total amount it will cost you for the entire loan term. Another question you should ask is if you are able to, can you pay the loan in a shorter term than that which is stipulated, because if you can, then it is a good option to take.
Clearing all your debts in one action will actually give you a feeling of relief and happiness, but should come with a warning.
NEVER EVER even think of using your cleared credit cards again or you will suffer the consequence of ending up in more debts than you can afford to pay. This will totally put you in a financial glitch that may take you several years to recover from.