reederhb
Jan 20, 2008, 05:22 PM
My father died :( and left one estate to be executed, however I have a question about using his estate to pay his debts.
First some background: He inherited money from his 2nd wife to use while he was alive, but to be left to beneficiaries she named when she died. He was the 1st beneficiary, and received all her money. My father honored his wife's will in his will and kept separate accounts while he was alive, a his and hers so to speak. While the money was all his, he did keep it separate. He did spend some of the money earned from his ex-wifes account, but not the original inheritance, and not all the earnings.
Most of my Dads money was in an IRA which he had beneficiaries for outside the will, and the IRA's were distributed by the brokerage firm according to the beneficiaries named. This leaves only bank accounts and stock accounts to distribute, and use for paying my fathers debt.
Now the question finally. As executor, can I use the money my father inherited from his 2nd wife, the same money he kept in a second account, to pay his debt even if I do not have to. My father might have enough money in his account to pay all debt, but his account is smaller the hers, and the money in her account is to be distributed outside either family, to strangers. In ratio, the money in her account is 6X larger than the money in his account. I would like to pay off all debt with that same ratio, mostly her money, some of his (but legally all his). If I do this, do the inheritors of the money she left have a legitimate case against the estate?
First some background: He inherited money from his 2nd wife to use while he was alive, but to be left to beneficiaries she named when she died. He was the 1st beneficiary, and received all her money. My father honored his wife's will in his will and kept separate accounts while he was alive, a his and hers so to speak. While the money was all his, he did keep it separate. He did spend some of the money earned from his ex-wifes account, but not the original inheritance, and not all the earnings.
Most of my Dads money was in an IRA which he had beneficiaries for outside the will, and the IRA's were distributed by the brokerage firm according to the beneficiaries named. This leaves only bank accounts and stock accounts to distribute, and use for paying my fathers debt.
Now the question finally. As executor, can I use the money my father inherited from his 2nd wife, the same money he kept in a second account, to pay his debt even if I do not have to. My father might have enough money in his account to pay all debt, but his account is smaller the hers, and the money in her account is to be distributed outside either family, to strangers. In ratio, the money in her account is 6X larger than the money in his account. I would like to pay off all debt with that same ratio, mostly her money, some of his (but legally all his). If I do this, do the inheritors of the money she left have a legitimate case against the estate?