Is my mother responsible for my late father’s medical bills?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is my mother responsible for my late father’s medical bills?
My father has no estate. There is a mortgage that was in both my parents’ names and 1 of my siblings names, which I understand is now solely my mother and sibling’s property. My father was in the hospital and passed away on the 10th day. We signed off on consent for surgery and miscellaneous items to be taken care of as my father was unconsious the entire time he was hospitalized and could not give his consent. Is my mother now responsible for any medical bills not covered under medicare and his supplemental insurance?
Asked on August 19, 2016 under Estate Planning, Maryland
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Unlike some other states, in MD, a surviving spouse is not responsible for paying for any debts or expenses that were their spouse's alone, such as medical bills (unless the survivor agreed to be held responsible). If all of the property the deceased spouse owned at the time of death was owned jointly with the surviving spouse with the "right of survivorship", it is solely the surviving spouse's property and not subject to claims of the deceased's creditors. That having been said, if the deceased spouse owned assets or property that was not jointly owned with the right of survivorship, that property would be in their estate and subject to creditor claims.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.