What If A Deceased Person Owes You Money?

By Kevin R. Albaum, Esq.
Clark, Campbell, Lancaster & Munson, P.A.

When a person owes you money and dies, all is not necessary lost and the funds can still be recovered at times from the deceased person’s probate estate if proper procedure is timely followed by you as the creditor. If a person dies and has assets that are subject to probate administration, any creditor of the deceased person may prepare a written “Statement of Claim” in an attempt to recover from the deceased person’s estate. The Statement of Claim is then filed in the probate case of the deceased person. The Statement of Claim should include the following information: the basis of the claim; the name and address of the Claimant (and their attorney, if any); the amount of the claim; when the amount is due or will become due; if the debt is contingent or unliquidated; and if the debt is/is not secured.

When a Statement of Claim is timely filed in a probate case, the person administering the probate case (or their attorney) will have to resolve the claim by either: paying the claim, objecting to the claim, paying a portion of the claim, or not paying any of the claim if the estate has insufficient assets to pay the claim. If a Statement of Claim is not timely filed, the claim will be forever barred. Therefore, it is very important to understand the legal deadlines of when creditor claims are time barred and to act fast to file a Statement of Claim when a person who owes you money dies.

What If There Is No Probate, Can I Still File A Statement of Claim?

If no one comes forward to start a probate case, a Statement of Claim cannot be filed as there is no one in place to resolve the deceased person’s debts. However, a document known as a “Caveat” can be filed with the probate court in the county where the deceased person resided at the time of their death. The Caveat is a written notice to the court that acts as a bookmark so that the person who filed the Caveat, known as the “Caveator”, is notified if any probate case is filed in the deceased person’s name. When a creditor files a Caveat, the Clerk of Court is required to notify the creditor if a probate case is initiated and to provide the creditor with contact information for the person who initiated the probate proceedings. Generally, after a creditor is notified of a probate case being opened, at that time, the Statement of Claim would then be prepared and filed in the probate case by the Caveator.

A Caveat is not just for creditors but also can be used by any interested person who is apprehensive that a probate case will be administered without their knowledge or any family member of the deceased person who is concerned they will not be notified by the rest of the family when a probate proceeding occurs.

If a deceased person owes you money, it is recommended to discuss your options with a probate attorney to determine whether it makes sense to file a Statement of Claim or Caveat and whether it is likely you would be able to recover from the deceased person’s estate.

Kevin Albaum is an attorney in the Elder Law Practice at Clark, Campbell, Lancaster & Munson, P.A. Questions can be submitted online to thelaw@cclmlaw.com.

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Kevin Albaum

Associate at Clark, Campbell, Lancaster & Munson, P.A.

Kevin Albaum was born and raised in Tarpon Springs, Florida. He grew up spending a lot of time on the water either boating, fishing, wakeboarding, or jetskiing. Kevin earned his bachelor’s degree at Florida State University where he competed for FSU’s mock trial team across the country. Immediately upon graduation, he enrolled at Stetson University’s College of Law in Gulfport, Florida due to their specialty program in elder law and his passion for that specific field of the law.

Kevin moved to Lakeland, Florida to join Clark, Campbell, Lancaster, and Munson where he practices in the areas of: elder law, guardianship, estate planning, trust administration, and Medicaid. Since moving to Lakeland, he has become involved with the Alzheimer’s Association Walk Committee, EMERGE Lakeland, and VISTE.