Ask the Expert: Do I get Dad's bills?

I am my late father's executor. How long must I wait for Dad's medical bills to show up in my mail? He was receiving Medicaid nursing home benefits when he died, and I think that between Medicaid, Medicare and his supplemental coverage, all charges will be covered. But I don't wish to take anything for granted. Is there a legal time limit? Can I be held personally responsible for unpaid bills?

For seven months after your appointment by the court, you can be held personally liable for funds that you distributed to the heirs before you settled creditors' claims that you knew about or should have known about, says Sharon Gruer Kovacs, a Great Neck estate lawyer. After that, creditors can seek to recover funds from the heirs.

She advises taking active steps to find creditors. For example, you could file a petition in Surrogate's Court listing the estate's assets and its potential creditors. The court then issues a summons to creditors, and you hire a process server to deliver it. But a less expensive option is simply to call or write to potential creditors - like Medicaid and the doctors who treated your father - and ask if they have any claims. During your father's lifetime, he could have kept his house and a personal account of up to $13,800 without affecting his Medicaid eligibility, Kovacs explains; but after his death, Medicaid can claim those assets to recover benefits paid for his nursing home care. If any creditors don't respond to your queries - or if the estate is too small to cover their claims - then you can pay court fees, and the judge will resolve the situation for you.

The bottom line Executors are responsible for paying a decedent's creditors before distributing assets to his heirs.

Websites with more information bit.ly/eO5jp8 and bit.ly/fxlwMe