[WSBAPT] creditor claim

Sun Jul 16 20:20:15 PDT 2017

The debt is a community debt, right?  If so, she is liable despite the fact that it was for his care.

Ralph Maimon

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From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> on behalf of Rob Wilson-Hoss <rob at hctc.com>
Sent: Friday, July 14, 2017 8:25:55 AM
To: 'WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv'
Subject: Re: [WSBAPT] creditor claim

This is something I run into all the time. A creditor's claim, in the context of a marriage, is almost always about a community debt. The creditor has a claim against the Estate for payment, but it is also a claim against the surviving spouse as a community debt. So whatever you do to eliminate the creditor's claim in the estate, you haven't solved her problem:

"The liability of property of spouses or domestic partners held by them as community property to execution in satisfaction of a claim enforceable against such property so held shall not be affected by the death of either or both spouses or either or both domestic partners; and a cause of action shall remain an asset as though both claiming spouses or both claiming domestic partners continued to live despite the death of either or both claiming spouses or both claiming domestic partners." RCW 4.20.046.

The way to beat this is with the family support allowance, chapter 11.54, which specifically exempts particular debts from execution if it applies. In your case, it may not be worth it to try that approach.

On the other hand, it is incredible to me how many creditors there are who tell you, after they learn that the primary debtor spouse is deceased, that they will only seek recovery from the estate and not the other spouse. Usually this comes from out of state, and it may be explained by unfamiliarity with community property laws here.

Rob

Robert D. Wilson-Hoss
Hoss & Wilson-Hoss, LLP
236 West Birch Street
Shelton, WA 98584
360 426-2999
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From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com [mailto:wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of Krista MacLaren
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2017 5:09 PM
To: wsba probate & trust
Subject: [WSBAPT] creditor claim

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
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