Ohio Supreme Court Rules That A Creditor Must Look At The Deceased Spouse’s Estate Before Pursuing A Surviving Spouse For Debt Payment
In a somewhat surprising decision, the Ohio Supreme Court on December 12, 2018, in Embassy Healthcare v. Bell provided some relief to surviving spouses for the debts of their deceased spouses under certain situations. Now, a creditor must look to the deceased spouse’s estate first before pursuing the surviving spouse for payment.
To understand the argument on both sides, one must first look to the existing statutory law. Under current existing Ohio statutory law, any creditor looking to be paid by a debtor’s estate must present a claim to the estate of the decedent within 6 months of the decedent’s death or the claim is banned forever. However, there is also the “necessaries statute” that states every spouse is directly responsible to care for his or her spouse if they are unable to do so. This has always been interpreted to mean that the surviving spouse is directly responsible for the funeral bill or last medical bills of the deceased spouse. Under R.C. 3103.03, the necessaries statute, the debtor spouse has primary liability for his/her own debts. The … Read More... “The Ohio Supreme Court Gives a Win to Surviving Spouses Over Creditors”