[johnnieneutron]

I have got a good one for you. My father has recently passed away. He ran a company that remodeled Kitchens and bathrooms. It seems as though towards the end of his life he started to rob Peter without paying Paul... We have six open jobs, two of which can be closed out with minimum expense to my mother. The other jobs combined probably need $50,000. We are not able to find anything incorporating his business, only trade mark paperwork. The business itself has no money, Mom would just like it to go away. We are not sure if bankruptcy is the right answer. There house mortgage is just in her name, but the deed is in both. Dad and Mom lived in PA, but Dad's Business was based out of NJ. Mom did receive some money from his life insurance.

[AK lawyer]

It's best if you ask a question. For example, in this case, I would expect a question like "what do we do with all these debts?"

It looks like your dad's estate is insolvent. More debts than assets.

If you finish the "minimum expense" jobs would that make the estate some cash?

You say the deed is in both their names. Is this title "in common" or is it "joint" ownership? Hopefully it is the latter, because in that case the house becomes hers without going through your father's estate. In that case the estate has no assets and you could simply notify the creditors that your dad has died and that there are simply no assets with which to pay creditors.

If the house is owned in common, it is more complicated. You should talk to an attorney in any case.

[JudyKayTee]

Like AKlawyer I don't find a question here.

What is the question?

[AK lawyer]

I neglected to tell you this: they are not your mother's debts, they were your father's. Therefore she is not obligated to pay these debts unless the creditors can somehow assert a claim against property she has some interest in keeping (such as the house).