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Do beneficiaries have to pay creditors out of their own pocket if the estate is insolvent?

Generally not. Just as you “can’t take it with you” you just can’t make others responsible for your general debts, at least without their consent.

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Unless the deceased had gifted away his or her assets to someone shortly before dying, or otherwise acted in concert with them to defraud his or her creditors, beneficiaries should not have any liability to the deceased’s creditors just because they are beneficiaries.

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Of course, if the children or beneficiaries took any property or benefits from the deceased or the estate or had assumed liability for care given the deceased, or guaranteed payment, they could be held liable for some or all of the deceased’s debts separately.

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