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America’s Dead Souls

theparisreview.org

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Re: America’s Dead Souls

#11

Post by s1artibartfast »

ashleyn wrote: post #9
moshmosh wrote: post #2

If this happens to you: 1) The creditors are full of shit. Don't accept the estate, don't acknowledge that you owe any debt, and you don't owe them a damn thing. If no-one accepts it, they're simply screwed. They'll try to trick you into paying anyway, because they are, in fact, monsters, but they're full of shit. 2) Look up (online) the correct magic words to tell the creditors to go fuck themselves, or else face ch…

One notable, and very underreported exception, is Pennsylvania's filial responsibility law[1]. In Pennsylvania, if a resident of a nursing home is indigent, the liability falls statutorily on their family, who the home is free to sue and secure a judgement. This may not have gotten much attention due to uncommon use, but it's very real, and it's been upheld by the PA State Supreme Court. A handful of children of seni…

Actually, I dont think PA is an exception here. Most states have similar laws on the books.

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#12

Post by moshmosh »

ashleyn wrote: post #9
moshmosh wrote: post #2

If this happens to you: 1) The creditors are full of shit. Don't accept the estate, don't acknowledge that you owe any debt, and you don't owe them a damn thing. If no-one accepts it, they're simply screwed. They'll try to trick you into paying anyway, because they are, in fact, monsters, but they're full of shit. 2) Look up (online) the correct magic words to tell the creditors to go fuck themselves, or else face ch…

One notable, and very underreported exception, is Pennsylvania's filial responsibility law[1]. In Pennsylvania, if a resident of a nursing home is indigent, the liability falls statutorily on their family, who the home is free to sue and secure a judgement. This may not have gotten much attention due to uncommon use, but it's very real, and it's been upheld by the PA State Supreme Court. A handful of children of seni…

Yes, in fact the details vary some depending on which state you're in and how you're related to the deceased. In general, though, I'd treat unsolicited calls attempting to get you, personally, to pay for a dead relative's debts, as bullshit until you're 100% sure they're not. Most (all?) state governments have FAQs for this sort of thing online, and the federal government also offers guidance (all trivially Googleable).

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#13

Post by syntheticnature »

gotoeleven wrote: post #4
moshmosh wrote: post #2

If this happens to you: 1) The creditors are full of shit. Don't accept the estate, don't acknowledge that you owe any debt, and you don't owe them a damn thing. If no-one accepts it, they're simply screwed. They'll try to trick you into paying anyway, because they are, in fact, monsters, but they're full of shit. 2) Look up (online) the correct magic words to tell the creditors to go fuck themselves, or else face ch…

Yeah this article is a bit dramatic. As evil as the rich people who try to recover debts may be, children are not legally responsible for their parent's debts.

Except when they are! https://www.paelderlaw.com/asset-protection-medicaid/supreme...

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#14

Post by hi41 »

I am shocked to see the debt fall on the descendant. Is this legal? If a parent commits a murder the legal system does not blame the descendant. How is it legal for debt be passed to descendants?

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#16

Post by [deleted] »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #10

I think it is important to raise awareness about Filial Responsibility Laws which hold children accountable for the debts of parents. More than half of US state have laws on the books which enable debt holders to go after assets outside of the deceased's estate. It is becoming increasingly common for nursing homes to bring suits against adult children of their residents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_responsib…

[deleted]

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#17

Post by 0xbadcafebee »

hi41 wrote: post #14

I am shocked to see the debt fall on the descendant. Is this legal? If a parent commits a murder the legal system does not blame the descendant. How is it legal for debt be passed to descendants?

Literally anything can be made legal. The people who want the money can lobby legislators until they get a law they want passed. Nothing stops it. Lobbying is legal, and lawmakers can make any law they want. They can even make a law that allows corporations to abuse people (which is weird since corporations are people, but we don't generally allow people to abuse people)

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#18

Post by keiferski »

acabal wrote: post #15

If you want to read Dead Souls , there's a free high quality edition at Standard Ebooks: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/nikolai-gogol/dead-souls/d... It's a surprisingly funny and brisk read.

Gogol is the master of witty short stories. I also recommend Diary of a Madman, in which a mediocre civil servant begins to imagine he is the King of Spain.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36238/36238-h/36238-h.htm#Pa...

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#19

Post by UncleOxidant »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #10

I think it is important to raise awareness about Filial Responsibility Laws which hold children accountable for the debts of parents. More than half of US state have laws on the books which enable debt holders to go after assets outside of the deceased's estate. It is becoming increasingly common for nursing homes to bring suits against adult children of their residents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_responsib…

This is pretty damn scary. Are debtor's prisons about to make a comeback too?

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#20

Post by acabal »

keiferski wrote: post #18
acabal wrote: post #15

If you want to read Dead Souls , there's a free high quality edition at Standard Ebooks: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/nikolai-gogol/dead-souls/d... It's a surprisingly funny and brisk read.

Gogol is the master of witty short stories. I also recommend Diary of a Madman , in which a mediocre civil servant begins to imagine he is the King of Spain. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36238/36238-h/36238-h.htm#Pa...

That's a great one! Also available at SE as "Memoirs of a Madman": https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/nikolai-gogol/short-fictio...
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