Q: How long can creditors make claims on a decedent's estate? All notices were given and the estate closed in Dec 2022.
The decedent died on 3/08/2022. The Notice to Creditors was published in March 2022 just after the decedent passed. The estate closed on 12/19/2022. I am personal representative and am still getting bills for medical services provided back in May 2021 thru January 2022. Am I obligated to pay them?
A: If these bills are Medicare or Medicaid-related, and are requesting reimbursements for benefits paid through those programs, then maybe. Otherwise, creditors have an outer deadline of 6 months from the date of death to file a formal claim in the estate (not simply mail bills--the claim if a formal filing in the estate), after which all claims are barred. Simply write back that the patient they are sending bills to is deceased, the date of death, that the estate is closed and the deadline for filing claims in the estate expired 6 months after the date of death, and therefore their claim is denied as untimely.
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