Don't understand the notice from court dismissing chapter 13 case

[savgamom]

My brother filed with attorney in December for bankruptcy Chapter 13. He died in January this year before the case came before the court. His lawyer dismissed the case. A letter from the court says this case is "dismissed" what does that mean? The court goes further on the say that "this Order to be served on all creditors and parties in interest within 5 days". The letter goes go on with several other orders that I do not understand. I guess my question is...are we (his sister) responsible for his debts or are they null and void?

Thank you for your help

[keepmine]

His estate is responsible for his debts.

Unless anyone cosigned the loans/debts, you and tour family have no responsibility.

[justbroke]

keepmine has nailed it. When your brother died, that death automatically created an estate. That post-mortum estate is responsible for paying the creditors. If he was already in bankruptcy, it's likely he didn't have anything to liquidate anyhow.

I'm sorry to read of your loss and hope that you are able to manage all the paperwork and creditors that are likely to hound you as you try to put your brother's estate in order. (Happened to me too. I randomly get a call about once a year trying to collect and I remind the creditor that he has passed and there is nothing.)

[savgamom]

Thank you for your replies. "Justbroke" thank you for your condolences, it has been a mess to discover. My brother did have a house. If I sell the house, does the house constitute his estate and is this estate responsible for his creditors? I'm thinking yes.

[justbroke]

Thank you for your replies. "Justbroke" thank you for your condolences, it has been a mess to discover. My brother did have a house. If I sell the house, does the house constitute his estate and is this estate responsible for his creditors? I'm thinking yes.

Well, if you had issues as we did with my brother's death, then that would mean that your brother died intestate -- without a will. Depending on what happens with probate you or the executor may have to liquidate the assets and then deal (legally) with the creditors. I'm not an expert as I've already confessed that I still get calls! My brother's wife was his nearest legal relative so she deal with the majority of the estate debt issues.

[LadyInTheRed]

Thank you for your replies. "Justbroke" thank you for your condolences, it has been a mess to discover. My brother did have a house. If I sell the house, does the house constitute his estate and is this estate responsible for his creditors? I'm thinking yes.

That's the way it would be in California and I suspect other state laws are similar. Your brother's house and any other assets he has make up his estate. The house and other assets get sold, the mortgage paid and what's left would go to pay creditors. Anything left goes to the beneficiaries under the will or, if there is no will, to the heirs-at-law according to state law. Like bankruptcy, there is an order of priority in which creditors get paid.

If there is not enough equity in the house to pay the debt and leave something left for the beneficiaries/heirs, you may not have to do anything at all. You can leave it up to the creditors to open a probate.

Again, this is based on my knowledge of California estate laws, which is my area of expertise. While much is similar from state to state, there are differences. So, you should consult with a probate lawyer.

Here's Nolo's summary of procedures in Indiana: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...-overview.html. Very similar to CA.