<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">Hi all:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">A potential client's husband recently passed away. They don't own any real estate, any banking assets were owned by them jointly, and their children are children in common. The husband had a life insurance policy on which he designated the surviving spouse as beneficiary. The wife found about $20k of credit card debt that the husband took out that she was previously unaware of. There are also some medical bills from the decedent's illness. A couple questions:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">(1) If the decedent and the surviving spouse had joint banking, are half of those assets available to his creditors? <br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">(2) I don't see a reason to open probate, because there are no assets that need to be moved from the decedent to the surviving spouse. Is this a situation in which a Nonprobate Notice to Creditors might be a good idea? </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">(3) But, if life insurance is the only asset (assuming a "no" answer to my Q#1 above), is a Nonprobate Notice to Creditors needed? I understand wanting to cut off any claims, but it seems a little strange to publish a notice while knowing all claims will be rejected. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">Thank you in advance for your wisdom!</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif">Warmly,</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif">Kendel</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif">--</span></div><div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><div dir="ltr" align="left" style="margin-left:0pt"><div dir="ltr" align="left" style="margin-left:0pt"><div dir="ltr" align="left" style="margin-left:0pt"><table style="border:none;border-collapse:collapse"><colgroup><col width="338"><col width="74"></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height:0pt"><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:5pt;overflow:hidden"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Kendel Froese </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Attorney, <a href="https://www.froeselawpllc.com" target="_blank">Froese Law PLLC</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">203 N. Washington | Suite 200 | </span><span style="background-color:transparent;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;white-space:pre-wrap">Spokane, WA | 99201 </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">509.514.5317 (Call & Text) </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Instantly schedule an appointment with me </span><a href="https://calendly.com/froeselawpllc" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">here</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">!</span></p></td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:5pt;overflow:hidden"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><img width="81" height="96" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4zIKTONA4xR_ILmHA0lPNyhV8gYAahIDfE1ggzT7AFZZ37uqqMctCKGu4jXmiuQpGJ1gLu9nes"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div><div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="font-size:12px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">Please Note!</b><br></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9pt"><font face="arial, sans-serif">The information contained in this email and any attachments are meant only for the use of the intended recipient and may be confidential and/or privileged. If you are reading this communication and are not the intended recipient, any unauthorized use, disclosure or copying is strictly prohibited, and may be unlawful. If you received this communication by mistake, please immediately notify the sender by return email, and delete the original message and all copies from your system. Thank you for your cooperation!</font></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>