How do you deal with bills from a deceased father?

I’d suggest that you do 3 things:
1. a form “to whom it may concern” letter stating your dads name and his old address and his DOD (date of death) and that at the time of death he had no assets therefore no after death Estate. His debts are / were his alone & he died a widower. Probate will not be opened and this letter is notification that there are no assets / no funds to pay any of his debts.
The letter is short & sweet, basically a notification. You do not have to sign you name onto the letter, unless you choose to.
2. You mail the letter to each debtor letter that comes your way. Each letter sent certified mail with the return registered card (the green postcard that gets affixed to the mailed envelope) from USPO. It costs abt $8.00 for the duet. It legally establishes that they are notified and the green card will be signed off by whomever receives your letter, and the green card is returned to you. On the return registered card, you do put in your name and your address…. This way it comes back to you.
3. You get a binder going in which attached to every letter you get, you staple the certified mail receipt and then the green card.

Should any of the debtors try to pressure you to pay or imply that his debts are yours, or any other drama, you have legal dated & signed verification that he died w/out an estate & his debts were his alone. Should they sell his debt to secondary debt collection- which they likely will - you make a copy of that letter & write across it “not a valid debt” and send it plus a copy of the original form letter & the certified mail and the return registered card. (The certified mail & RRC will have the creditors name & address so you have a definite match up). This too you do the certified mail & return registered card duet. Rinse & repeat.

really truly you want to do this. The secondary debt collection outfits are notoriously bad; they will send letters addressed to you personally not dad but you personally, and if you do not do something definite within 30 days to let them know it’s not your debt, they can - if they are motivated to do this - they can take you to court to get a judgement against you for his debt.

Carefulky read the bills, most will have a time frame in which to respond to the validity of the bill. You need to get your USPO duet postmarked within that period. Once you do the first few, it’ll be easy peasy to keep it up. Good luck and get organized!

When my mother passed, there was also no estate. When we received a bill, we responded with a letter to what Igloo included with her answer, and included a copy of her death certificate. The executor of the estate signed the letter. We never heard from anyone after that.

I am so very sorry for the loss of your father. Praying for peace and comfort for you.

Are they sending these bills to you, or to your father but at your address?

Any that name your father, I should write "deceased - return to sender" on the unopened envelope and pop it back in the mail.

Call or email them and tell them he's deceased - stop sending bills. Tell them to bill his Medicare (and or any insurance he has) and that's the best info you can offer them Don't spend money buying a lot of death certificates from the funeral home to mail out - too much money to spend. If anything refer them to the obituary at the funeral home if they need to verify death. Bill collectors don't need a copy of a death certificate.

Make a list of each company you call and the date you called them so you have a record. Any more bills arrive after telling them???? Trash can.

No, you are not responsible for your Father's bills. Write on the bill "Deceased; NO ESTATE". As long as there is no estate probated the entities cannot try to collect. You do not pay the bills of your father.
Let us assume your father were still alive and had no money at all. They could still do nothing but bill him, and finally go to court and get a judgement against him. We don't have debtors prisons. His credit would be ruined. The collectors would eventally sell the debt to collectors for pennies on the dollar.
Wishing the best and so sorry for your loss.

His bills are HIS bills. I wouldn't even open them. Contacting the billing departments implies you have some sense of responsibility, so I advise that you don't do it.

They'll be trying to ding the credit of a dead man, so let them go for it. If collection agencies call, you tell them no such person lives there and do not call again -- end of discussion. If they continue to call, keep track of those calls (date, time, name of caller/company, what they say), but do not engage with them at all. These are the bills of someone who is not you, so there's no reason for you to discuss any of it.

Under NO circumstances do you pay one dime to anyone. If Dad has any money left at all, keep it in the account untouched for a while in case someone tries to garnish it. They might be able to do that -- I'm not a lawyer, so I can't tell you if that's the case, but it sounds like the amount in his account is insignificant.

I'm sorry for your loss. If he was on Medicare the hospital should submit bills to them. They may come after him for expenses Medicare did not pay but if he had extra insurance, that should cover anything left over.

The collectors do have a chance to submit a claim against the Estate. Check the laws in your state about this.

You're not responsible for his bills, like the other responders have mentioned.

LonelyDad, I am sorry for your loss. How are you doing?

You know you don't have to pay. so don't worry about the bills. You have several ways to deal with them. If you're grieving and don't feel like doing anything, then you can ignore them, and throw them out. Or if you want to notify the creditors properly, follow igloo's advice. And if any creditors try to be an @ss, give them your dad's forwarding address to the cemetery where he was buried, or where his ashes are kept, be sure to include cemetery name and plot #.

I am so sorry about your Dad.

No, your are not responsible for your Dads bills. So do not let them intimidate you.

At 94 your Dad did have Medicare, did he have supplimental/ secondary insurance?

Get the bills together and sort them by doctor and hospital. Then call their billing departments. Tell them Dad had no assets. There is no money. They probably will need a copy of the death certificate. Not sure how you will prove he has no funds. Maybe a letter from a Bank officer? I would not send them anything with his acct# on it. I was able to pay off Moms balances before she went on Medicaid so I didn't have to call creditors.

There will be someone who has dealt with this.

So sorry for your loss. May the memory of your dad be a blessing to you.

Do not open these bills. Write "Deceased - Return to Sender" on the envelope. You are not his spouse and the hospital cannot come after you to pay his bills.