[WSBAPT] creditor claim

[Krista MacLaren]

Hi Folks,

I represented a W as PR of her husband’s estate.  Before she hired me, she went out of her way to pay all of his bills - lots of bills I would have told her not to pay.  She was absolutely certain there were no other creditors, and did not want to provide notice to creditors, since there were none.  ;)  We closed the probate fairly quickly because it was only needed for transferring the house.  Now there is a creditor who submitted a bill for $8,000 for I think a medical expense.  She never saw a bill from them until now.

I know that the creditor has 2 years from date of death (which is more than a year away), but I am wondering whether I can tell my client that she is responsible for the bill if it is legitimate, but also tell her she can “play dumb”, calling the company and saying that her husband’s probate is closed and done and it’s too late, and let the creditor investigate about whether it is really too late?  Is there anything wrong with this approach?  I don’t know whether my client would feel comfortable with this strategy, but I am wondering whether other lawyers view it as acceptable or unethical?

Thank you,

Krista J. MacLaren
Attorney at Law
Northgate Executive Center II
9725 3rd Ave NE, Suite 600
Seattle, WA 98115
(206)523-6116
kjm.inc at mac.com <mailto:kjm.inc at mac.com>

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