[josie]

From what I understand, creditors have 3-6 months to collect any debt. Some credit card companies will want to collect and others might be nice enough to write it off. But they can legally liquidate any assets in order to cover what was owed to them. If you have a parent that has more debt than assets you will not be responsible for any debt left over.That's a myth that sometimes scares people. It is written off. However, all the assets are also gone. This is something to really think about if you have any property that you never wish to get sold. If for some reason you have more debt that assets currently, I would suggest to get a life insurance policy that would cover a good portion of debt and funeral costs so you can leave assets for your loved ones.

If fact no matter what your health or financial standing I would strongly suggest a life insurance policy. Funerals are SO expensive and rack up thousands and thousands of dollars for even a "frugal" one. Creamation is more expensive (at least in my city, and state) and it costs money for even the tax experts and laywers it may or may not take to close an estate depending on your experience.

If you haven't done so, no matter what your age, visit a funeral home and look at the different expenses involved, tell your loved ones what kind of funeral you would like and try to take care of as many details as you could. Even just buying a burial plot can help. Write a brief autobiography about yourself. Make sure to have a record of all your assets and where they are located.I know it's something noone wants to think about but it's even harder for someone in grief to have to make every single decision and they are all treated as a business transaction which is very difficult to deal with.

I am really worried about my mother in law. She has so assets, no retirement, no savings, and no life insurance policy. I think we are going to sit down with her and possibly even purchase one ourselves for her. Same with my father in law. He has numerous assets and a business but no life insurance policy. My husband also has a sister. If she doesn't want to pay half the premium of the life insurance would she still recieve half when the time came? I don't mean to sound insensitive but if we are paying 30 years worth of life insurance which is a huge sum in itself I don't know how fair it is to just split it. Or do you think it would be better to just invest a certain amount of money every month instead of paying a life insurance premium and then use that for funeral expenses?

Sorry I'm sounding so morbid but I guess when your father dies really young and you are orphaned before age 22 you really think about these things and realize they are going to happen. I'm not trying to be greedy at all but I also know how horrible it would be to go through the entire funeral process and this time without any type of insurance to even cover expenses.