Estate & Probate · For executors and families

Who Pays a Parent's Debts After They Die in Washington?

Written from the Washington statutes it cites, checked October 11, 2026. Its primary sources are listed at the end of the page.

The estate pays, not the children

A parent's debts become claims against the estate. The personal representative (executor) pays valid debts from estate money before anything goes to heirs.

The Federal Trade Commission says, "By law, family members do not usually have to pay the debts of a deceased relative from their own money." The exceptions: you may owe the debt yourself if you:

• Co-signed the loan.
• Held a joint account, such as a joint credit card. Being only an "authorized user" is different (CFPB).
• Are the surviving spouse in a community property state, or in a state that makes a spouse pay certain debts, "like some healthcare expenses" (FTC). Washington is a community property state. In a Washington estate, a community debt "is charged against the entire community property," including the surviving spouse's half (RCW 11.10.030). Washington law also makes "the expenses of the family" chargeable on the property of both spouses (RCW 26.16.205). Whether a particular debt is a community debt or a family expense depends on the facts.
• Are the executor and did not follow the state's probate rules (FTC).

Some property that passes outside the will can still be reached. Under RCW 11.18.200, unless a statute exempts it, a person who receives a nonprobate asset that was available to pay the parent's general debts just before death "takes the asset subject to liabilities, claims, estate taxes, and the fair share of expenses of administration." Payable-on-death accounts and houses passing by transfer on death deed are covered, "to the extent of the decedent's beneficial ownership interest in the property immediately before death." The recipient may have to account to the personal representative, who must first give notice under chapter 11.96A RCW. Life insurance paid to a named beneficiary other than the parent is protected "against the creditors and representatives of the insured" (RCW 48.18.410), but premiums paid "with intent to defraud creditors" can be recovered.

In what order are debts paid?

RCW 11.76.110 says "the reasonable expenses of administration and the enforceable debts of the estate shall be paid in the following order":

1. Expenses of administration.
2. Funeral expenses, in an amount the court orders or a personal representative with nonintervention powers finds reasonable.
3. Expenses of the last sickness, on the same reasonableness standard.
4. Wages due for work performed within 60 days before death.
5. Exemptions and awards under chapter 11.54 RCW (awards a court may make to a surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, or dependent children).
6. All other enforceable demands against the estate.

The list is "subject to federal preemption" and to the priority of liens under other law. A mortgage or other lien has priority only against the proceeds of the property it is attached to (RCW 11.76.120). Credit cards, personal loans, and most medical bills generally fall in the last class. Medical bills from the final illness are in the third class.

How long do creditors have to file a claim?

Notice to creditors is optional. A personal representative "may give notice to the creditors of the decedent" (RCW 11.40.020). If they do, the notice is published "once each week for three successive weeks" in a legal newspaper. A copy, with the parent's Social Security number, must be mailed to the DSHS Office of Financial Recovery.

RCW 11.40.051 then sets the deadlines:

• Creditors who got actual notice: the later of "thirty days after the personal representative's service or mailing of notice to the creditor" or "four months after the date of first publication of the notice."
• Creditors who did not get actual notice: four months after first publication if the creditor "was not reasonably ascertainable." If the creditor was reasonably ascertainable, they have up to 24 months after the death.
• No notice at all: claims must be presented "within twenty-four months after the decedent's date of death."

A late creditor "is forever barred," as to "both the decedent's probate and nonprobate assets." A claim must be signed, served on or mailed to the personal representative or their attorney, and filed with the probate court (RCW 11.40.070).

What if there are more debts than assets?

An estate whose debts exceed its assets is insolvent. Because RCW 11.76.110 requires payment "in the following order," higher classes are paid first. When money runs out, lower classes, usually credit cards and other unsecured debts, may get part of what they are owed or nothing. If there is not enough to pay one class in full, "each creditor shall be paid in proportion to his or her claim," and no lower class is paid until that class is paid in full (RCW 11.76.150).

The unpaid balance does not pass to the children (FTC, CFPB). But a child who received a nonprobate asset, such as a payable-on-death account, may have to contribute it toward the debts (RCW 11.18.200). Also:

• Less independence for the executor. A court grants nonintervention powers (acting without court approval at each step) only if it "determines that the decedent's estate is solvent, taking into account probate and nonprobate assets" (RCW 11.68.011). A will can also tell the court not to grant them.
• Heirs may receive nothing. Debts come before inheritances. When gifts must be cut back, RCW 11.10.010 sets the order: property passing without a will, then the residue, then general gifts, then specific gifts.

Credit cards and debt collectors

Credit card balances are paid from the estate as ordinary claims. A joint account holder may owe the balance personally. An authorized user generally does not (CFPB).

Collectors may discuss the debt with the executor or administrator, the spouse, and a few others. They may contact other relatives only to locate the executor (FTC, CFPB). The CFPB says collectors "are not allowed to say or hint that you are responsible for paying the debts with your own money."

Federal student loans

U.S. Department of Education rules "provide for discharge of a borrower's obligation to repay those loans if the borrower dies." A Parent PLUS loan is also discharged "if the student on whose behalf the parent borrowed dies." The servicer needs proof of death, such as "an original or certified copy of the death certificate" or an accurate copy of one, or the Department may verify the death through an approved federal or state database (34 CFR 685.212(a)). These rules do not cover private student loans.

The house, the mortgage, and Medicaid

The mortgage. A mortgage stays attached to the house. See What Happens to the Mortgage When a Parent Dies?

Medicaid estate recovery. If a parent received Medicaid long-term care at 55 or older, Washington must seek repayment from the estate, including nonprobate assets such as a transfer on death house. Hardship waivers exist (RCW 43.20B.080). See Medicaid and the Family Home.

What to do next

• Executors: see Executor responsibilities: first steps before paying any bill.
• Check the claim deadlines in deadlines and key rules.
• Before paying a parent's debt from your own money, check whether you co-signed or held a joint account.
• Look up terms such as "insolvent estate" in the probate glossary.
• For advice on a specific estate, see Washington probate attorneys.

Related: What Does Probate Cost in Washington? · Can a Will Be Challenged in Washington? · Family Member or Trust Company? Choosing a Trustee in Washington