Your mother's debts are now her estate's debts. They are not yours personally. Funeral expenses have first priority so you can pay those out of her policy. It sounds like her only asset was the car, and that may not cover her medical bills and credit card debt. I would contact these creditors and let them know that her estate has no assets. They may just write off the debt. Most states have a small amount of estate assets that are deemed "exempt property" and so not liable to creditors for debts. In Maine, this amount is $7,000; it looks like it is $10,000 in PA for bank accounts but I don't know if personal property is treated differently there. My guess is that if the car is worth less than $10,000, you should be able to sell it and keep that amount to be distributed between you and your brother, but I am not sure about that. I do know that creditors are used to estates that have no funds, so you may have the easiest time just contacting them and telling them the situation. Worst case scenario is that you sell the car, provide the creditors with the amount received, and divide it between them in accordance with the amount your mother owed. In any case, you are not personally responsible for any of her debts and should not pay them out of your own funds.
Answered on Mar 13th, 2017 at 8:33 AM