What happens when someone who owes a big debt passes away?

Debt is paid by your estate when you die. If the estate cannot pay off the debt, no one else can be held responsible, then the estate is deemed insolvent in probate court, debts are written off by the grantors of the debt.

Keep in mind that if you do have an estate and leave debt, your estate will be depleted by the amount owed your creditors. If you do not have any other assets, your home and possessions may be sold to generate the funds to pay off your creditors.

It also depends if you live in a community property state or not.

If you own nothing and you die leaving ANY debts behind, the companies have to eat the debts.

I know this because my sister died last year at the young age of 37, she had her own debts that did not have her hubbies name or social involved.

We just sent in death certificates and they were removed.

A friend of mine died in a car accident and she left a cc debt and a lot of other bills behind,the credits keep calling her grown children to pay the debts.She owns nothing,no car,no land,no home,no 401k,no stocks ,no bonds nothing.
Her children had to borrow money to bury her.
Why are the bill collectors hounding her grown children?
A summons was issued for her to show up in court and of course that's not going to happen so my question is what can we do from here.

I would send in an official death certificate to the creditors. I dont think they can make her children pay this debt UNLESS they make be on the credit cards. One thing for sure they cant get it from her now. I am sorry for the loss of your friend. KYSIDE38

Unless there was money in the estate and there was a sale of the estate propery, then they can't hold the children responsible, unless, like kyside said, the children were listed on the cc or the other debt.

A summons was issued for her to show up in court and of course that's not going to happen so my question is what can we do from here.

Nobody is obligated to do anything on your side. The CA is obligated. If you want it gone, take the death certificate to the court where the summons was issued.

I would send cease and desist letters to all the CAs and if they continue otherwise sue their butts.

The children are not on the cc and since she doesn't own anything there is no estate to sell.We are all here reading all post and her family is at ease now ,to tell the truth untill all of your post we really did not know how to handle the bill collectors or what to do.
Thank all of you not just for your advice but for this web site.

Have that death certificate handy, my grandmother died from breast cancer, and whatever savings she had went towards her care in the end. And my mother was the executor of her estate, and there was NOTHING left, the bill collectors whom she owed after she died had to write off the bills because there was nothing left in her estate.

What if my father left his mobile home in a will, but when he died he owed some credit card debts? Would the mobile home have to be sold to pay creditors?

If it were me, I'd let 'em show up in court, and I'd be there with a copy of her death certificate.

Was there insurance on her, in the car she died in?

my dad recently passed away and he owned two houses that he wanted to leave to me and my brother, however he has some debt and did not leave a living will. what will happen to the houses?