Not one of my problems today

[Tom Bender]

My friend's brother died leaving a leased car in the driveway, and no money in the bank. My friend was cleaning out the apartment and didn't know what to do with the car. She took it to the leasing dealer and tried to hand over the keys. They were flummoxed, didn't want to take the keys and really tried to get her to pick up the lease. She left the keys on a desk.

[Ron Citerone]

That is a real mess for sure. Hopefully it all gets taken care of. It can’t be the first time this happened to a leasing agent. They should know what to do.

[Jim Matthews]

My friend's brother died leaving a leased car in the driveway, and no money in the bank.

Then, he wins.

Spend it ALL.

[Jim Koepke]

My friend's brother died leaving a leased car in the driveway, and no money in the bank.

Make sure to check in all the hiding places for an emergency stash of cash.

jtk

[Jim Becker]

The vehicle is owned by the leasing company that provided the funds. It seems strange that the dealership was so unwilling to help your friend get in touch with the leasing company to take back the vehicle, but I'm wondering if the dealer was the leasing company, too, given their attempt to get your friend to take over the lease. Regardless, it was sad for her to have to deal with all of this and I'm sad for her loss.

[Doug Garson]

I wonder what the lease agreement fine print says? Does the lease become part of the estate or is it cancelled upon death of the lessor? Like Ron said this can't be the first time this happened, I would suggest people probably die every week with leases, whether for cars or apartments and the lease agreement should address the issue.

[Kev Williams]

His 'estate' is responsible for the lease, which includes his heirs if any...

My dad & I have leased 4 trucks in the past, and we paid for insurance to cover the lease in the event of the death of myself or my dad. Could be this guy did the same thing?

[Thomas McCurnin]

Happy ex-liar, sorry, lawyer.

Heirs generally not responsible. However, debts must be paid prior to distribution, so if there are assets, then leasing company gets paid first.

[Henry Keller]

Had same thing happen with brother inlaws car wanted me to pay out of my pocket .After haggling for year they finally came and got it

[Mike Kreinhop]

Heirs generally not responsible.

With an international membership, this statement should be restricted to U.S. probate. :D

In Germany, heirs do inherit debt, and sometimes that is the only legacy left to pass on. Fortunately, during probate, heirs have the option to opt out of the inheritance and avoid the debt and associated duties.

[Jim Becker]

His 'estate' is responsible for the lease, which includes his heirs if any...

Debts are responsibility of the estate...if there is one that has liquidity. The heirs themselves have zero responsibility. However, they don't inherit anything until debts are paid. In this case, it sounds like there's no money/estate in the scenario described by the OP so the best that the leasing company can do is take the vehicle back and sell it or lease it to someone else. They can certainly ask if there is interest from a family member in taking over the lease, but they cannot compel it.

Note that insurance proceeds that pay to a listed beneficiary are not part of the estate.

My comments are around things in the US and likely applies in most states, but state laws govern this kind of thing. I just got done dealing with this relative to my mother's stuff, being the executor of her estate.

[Rollie Meyers]

When my mom died, there were some bills that came in, some were credit cards, and there were enough funds to cover it so I paid them all, she bought the stuff so saw no reason not to pay them off, when I went to the bank to cancel one of the cards, they mentioned that I was not responsible, but had already paid it off & that was the way I wanted it.

[Doug Garson]

When my mom died, there were some bills that came in, some were credit cards, and there were enough funds to cover it so I paid them all, she bought the stuff so saw no reason not to pay them off, when I went to the bank to cancel one of the cards, they mentioned that I was not responsible, but had already paid it off & that was the way I wanted it.
Good on you, the world would be a better place if more people did what is right rather than doing what they can get away with.

[Brian Elfert]

When my mom died, there were some bills that came in, some were credit cards, and there were enough funds to cover it so I paid them all, she bought the stuff so saw no reason not to pay them off, when I went to the bank to cancel one of the cards, they mentioned that I was not responsible, but had already paid it off & that was the way I wanted it.

Isn't the estate required to pay off any debts if there is any money left? I heard of people in their 70s or 80s buying a motorhome on a 20 year loan. They know it is unlikely they will be alive to pay the loan for 20 years and they will let their executor deal with the bank once they pass.

My employer provides a a life insurance policy worth close to $100,000. I figure that money could be used by my estate to settle any debt I leave behind should I die before retirement.

[Jim Becker]

Isn't the estate required to pay off any debts if there is any money left? I heard of people in their 70s or 80s buying a motorhome on a 20 year loan. They know it is unlikely they will be alive to pay the loan for 20 years and they will let their executor deal with the bank once they pass.

Yes, debts have to be discharged by the executor before any liquid funds are distributed to heirs. So for your example, they would need to pay off the loan for the RV since it was in existence prior to the death...presumably by selling the RV to gain the funds. But for the OP's stated senario with his friend, it's a lease which is a rental situation and there are no assets. Since the estate cannot pay and the heirs are not responsible to pay, the leasing company is on the hook to regain any value they can from the vehicle as-is.

Where I feel for creditors "a little" (but not much) is when they delay billing for things like medical copays for months. When someone dies, their income ends and once anything remaining is used to pay off debts existing at the time, the empty pot can't cover those late bills. Fortunately, as I noted above, heirs have no responsibility for debts contracted by a now-deceased family member. I just had to inform a medical practice that the "well was dry" for something they did for my mother way back in may and just sent a small bill for.