Is a surviving spouse legally required to pay off the deceased spouses medical bills?
I suppose we might ask, if not, then who? Let’s say the surviving spouse is the wife, and the deceased husband, as is traditional, was the breadwinner, and was considered the responsible party. She is his heir, inheriting both his assets and his liabilities. In the case of joint assets and liabilities, they now become her assets and liabilities. In the case of assets and liabilites which were in his name only, I guess that technically it is his estate that must pay off the liabilities, and she will receive assets that are left. If he was covered under some sort of medical insurance, then that insurance program would be responsible to pay its part, with the wife or estate responsible for the patient’s part. If the wife is the deceased, and the surviving husband is the responsible party, then obviously, he remains responsible for debs incurred while he was alive. The foregoing is not professional advice. The writer is not an attorney. It is a personal opinion based on personal understand
