Are Children Personally Liable for a Deceased Parent’s Debt in Illinois?

Article written by Illinois Attorney Kevin O’Flaherty

In this article, we answer the question, “are children liable for a deceased parent’s debt in Illinois?” We answer the questions, “what is probate?”, “what happens if an estate does not have enough assets to pay the deceased person’s debts?”, “are children responsible for paying a deceased parent’s debts in Illinois?”, “when are children personally liable for a deceased parent’s bills?”, and “what happens if you cosigned or guaranteed a deceased parent’s debt?” We also explain a child’s liability for a deceased parents debt based on a transfer of assets shortly before death and based on mismanagement of the estate.

What is probate?

Probate is the judicial process that verifies a will as an official legal document in a court of law. As the first step of administering the estate of a deceased person, the granting of probate resolves all claims and distributions of the deceased person’s true last testament. A probate court determines if a testator’s will is or is not valid, granting approval for the “executor,” or the personal representative named in the will to dispose of the testator’s assets in the specified manner of the testator’s wishes. For more, check out: The Illinois Probate Process Explained.

What happens if an estate does not have enough assets to pay a deceased person’s debts?