To collect money a deceased person owed you, you file creditor claims against an estate in the probate court handling the deceased’s affairs, deliver a copy to the personal representative, and wait to be paid in the order state law sets. The filing window is short, usually four months from the date the estate first publishes notice to creditors, with a one-year outer cutoff from the date of death. Miss it and the debt is barred forever, even if it’s legitimate.
Filing Deadlines You Cannot Miss
Creditor deadlines in probate are set by nonclaim statutes, and courts almost never grant extensions. The clock has more than one hand, and you need to know which one applies to you.
In states following the Uniform Probate Code framework, two deadlines run at once:
- Creditors who learn about the death through the newspaper “Notice to Creditors” typically have four months from the date of first publication to file. Some states are shorter or longer, but four months is the common baseline.
- Known creditors who receive direct written notice from the personal representative often face a shorter individual deadline, commonly 30 days from the mailing of that notice or the end of the published-notice period, whichever comes later.
Layered over both is an absolute outer limit. Under the UPC model, all claims against a decedent’s estate are barred one year after the date of death, whether or not notice was ever published. Even if the personal representative never publishes, a creditor who does nothing for a year loses the right to file. In several states, this nonclaim deadline cannot be waived or tolled the way an ordinary statute of limitations can.
One boundary worth pinning down: the nonclaim deadline is about the probate filing window, not the underlying debt. A debt that was already past the regular statute of limitations before the person died cannot be revived through a probate claim. If you sat on a lawsuit while the debtor was alive, probate is not a second chance.
What the Claim Must Contain
A claim needs enough detail for the personal representative and the court to evaluate whether the debt is real and how much is owed. At a minimum:
- The exact amount owed as of the date of death, including any interest or fees that were legally permitted under the original agreement.
- The basis for the debt, whether a written contract, medical services, a personal loan, or some other obligation.
- The date the debt was incurred, so the representative can verify it falls within the statute of limitations.
- Your full legal name, mailing address, and contact information.
- The estate case number, tying the claim to the correct probate proceeding. Filing under the wrong case number can delay or derail the claim.
Attach supporting documentation. Signed contracts, account statements, and invoices are what separate a claim that gets paid from one that gets challenged. If the debt is based on a written agreement, most jurisdictions require a copy of that document with the filing. A bare assertion that money is owed gives the personal representative grounds to reject the claim.
Contingent or Unliquidated Debts
Not every debt has a fixed amount when someone dies. A cosigner whose obligation depends on the primary borrower defaulting has a contingent claim. A landlord owed for property damage not yet assessed has an unliquidated claim. Most states allow creditors to present claims that are contingent, unliquidated, or not yet due, and the personal representative or the court can estimate their value for payment. File within the deadline even if the final amount is uncertain. Waiting until the number is firm usually means the window has already closed.
How to File and Serve the Claim
The form is usually called a “Statement of Claim” or “Creditor’s Claim” and is available from the probate court clerk or on the court’s website. Filing fees vary widely, from nothing at all to several hundred dollars, depending on the jurisdiction.
Many courts accept electronic filings through e-filing portals. Where digital filing isn’t available, deliver the paperwork in person or by mail to the clerk. The clerk stamps the document with the filing date, which becomes the official record of when the claim was presented. Keep that stamped copy. If timeliness is ever disputed, the file stamp is the evidence.
Filing with the court is only half the job. You also have to deliver a copy of the claim to the personal representative. Most jurisdictions allow service by certified mail with a return receipt, which creates a paper trail. After serving, file a proof of service or affidavit of service with the court confirming that the representative received notice. Skip this step and an otherwise valid claim may be unenforceable.
Where You Stand in the Payment Line
If an estate cannot pay every creditor, state law decides who gets paid first. The personal representative must pay claims from highest priority down, and when the money runs out, creditors further down the list collect partial payment or nothing at all.
States following the Uniform Probate Code model generally rank claims this way:
- Administrative expenses of the probate itself: representative’s fees, attorney fees, court filing costs, and appraisal expenses. Without these, the probate process could not function.
- Funeral and burial expenses, often subject to a statutory cap.
- Federal and state tax debts.
- Medical expenses of the last illness, including hospital bills, hospice care, and physician fees from the final illness.
- General unsecured debts, including credit card balances and personal loans. If the estate is insolvent, these creditors are the most likely to walk away empty-handed.
The exact ranking varies by state. Some jurisdictions break these into finer tiers, others combine them. But the broad pattern holds: administrative costs and government obligations come before private debts, and unsecured creditors are last.
Federal Claims Come First
Federal law overlays state priority. Under 31 U.S.C. ยง 3713, when a deceased debtor’s estate cannot pay all its debts, claims of the United States must be paid first.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 3713 – Priority of Government Claims This federal priority can override state rankings, so unpaid federal obligations like back taxes may need to be addressed before other creditors see a dollar, even ahead of what state law calls first-tier administrative expenses.
If the Personal Representative Rejects Your Claim
The personal representative can allow or reject any claim. A rejection comes by written notice of disallowance mailed to you. That isn’t the end, but the window to fight is narrow.
Under the UPC model, a creditor whose claim has been disallowed has 60 days from the mailing of the rejection notice to file a petition with the court or start a lawsuit against the representative. The rejection notice must warn you of that deadline. Miss those 60 days and the claim is permanently barred. This is where many creditors lose legitimate debts, not to the merits but to a missed deadline after a rejection letter.
The rule cuts the other way too. If the personal representative takes no action on a claim for 60 days after the filing deadline passes, the claim is generally treated as allowed by default. Silence works in the creditor’s favor.
Secured Debts and Assets Outside Probate
Secured creditors play by different rules. A lender holding a mortgage or an auto loan typically does not need to file a probate claim to protect its interest. If payments stop, the lender can foreclose or repossess the collateral directly, and the lien follows the property regardless of what happens in probate. A secured creditor who wants to recover any deficiency, meaning the gap between the collateral’s value and the balance owed, would need to file an unsecured claim for that remaining amount within the ordinary deadlines.
Not everything the deceased owned flows through probate, and this matters if you are trying to figure out what pool of assets can actually satisfy your claim. Life insurance proceeds paid to a named beneficiary, retirement accounts with designated beneficiaries, jointly held bank accounts, and payable-on-death designations all pass outside the probate estate. Those assets generally are not available to satisfy creditor claims filed in probate. A person can die with substantial debts and an insolvent probate estate while family members receive significant sums through beneficiary designations that creditors cannot reach.
Whether the Family Owes the Debt
As a general rule, a deceased person’s debts belong to the estate, not to the family. Heirs and beneficiaries are not personally responsible for paying a relative’s debts from their own money, and if the estate runs out of funds, unpaid debts typically go uncollected.2Federal Trade Commission. Debts and Deceased Relatives
The exceptions are real. A family member may be personally responsible if they cosigned the loan or credit account, if they live in a community property state and the debt was a community obligation, or if state law requires a surviving spouse to pay certain debts such as healthcare costs.2Federal Trade Commission. Debts and Deceased Relatives Collectors sometimes contact relatives and imply they have to pay when they don’t. Knowing the difference between an estate obligation and a personal one keeps surviving family from paying debts that aren’t legally theirs, and keeps a creditor’s collection efforts pointed at the right target: the probate estate.