Just wondering if anyone has had experience or knows about such a situation:
My wife and I are living in Canada… and she got word back today that her father’s brother has just died. The problem is that he had huge debt, and his children apparently, “gave up” on all inheritances/liabilities and therefore are not now liable for any of his debts. So… flabbergastingly, his debts apparently are passed on to the next of kin down the line. And my wife has to go back within two months to “give up” the “inheritances”?!
And by the way… she is near to getting her Permanent Residence card and should not leave the country right now.
Is this situation true?! Have any of you ever had to deal with something like this?
Unless there is some contractual basis between your wife and her uncle, she is not liable for his debts. Note that this may not stop a creditor from trying to intimidate your wife into paying the liability.
If you feel a creditor is treating you unfairly or is attempting to collect from you without a basis, you should consult with an attorney.
No need to be sorry… she doesn’t even talk to him or his family! Moreover, we are in Canada. So, nobody can do anything to us… but his kids were just informing everybody that they should “give up” on any possible “inheritance,” because their dad has a lot of debt, and they had done so (meaning that in law, the debt would be passed onto the next of kin after them).
But, my wife had done some reading today, and she said the first-of-kin is children/grandchildren/parents/spouse, second-of-kin is siblings, and third-of-kin is something I forget.
She was just worried… say we go back to Taiwan in a couple years and buy a house. Then some creditor might pop up out of the blue and try to take our assets! Not like we’re going to have all our assets in Taiwan… but still.
Contrary to popular belief, the next of kin is not responsible for paying the debts of a deceased family member. The only exception is if the deceased has a co-borrower on any loans. This does happen frequently–especially when it comes to married couples. If the deceased does have assets, though, those assets may be used to recoup the losses.
In some instances there is simply not enough cash or assets to settle the debts. This would mean the deceased person has an insolvent estate. It is then possible for a creditor to petition for an insolvency administration order. But again, if your wife is not a co-borrower, she has nothing to worry about.
Creditors may attempt to collect on debts by contacting survivors. This is illegal. Creditors are only allowed to contact borrowers (whether primary or secondary) about debts owed. Not only is this a breach of contract, it is a breach of the privacy on the account.
Rob, are you making your above statements based on US law, or are you familiar with Taiwan laws of inheritance? I’m not accusing you; just curious, because regarding this. . .
It’s my understanding that’s not correct in Taiwan. I know in the US, and perhaps most countries, one can’t inherit someone else’s debts unless one signed a contract agreeing to that. But it’s my understanding in Taiwan, at least if you affirmatively state a desire to inherit your father/mother/uncle/grandfather/spouse’s assets, if it turns out the liabilities exceed the assets you are then screwed and committed to assume liability for hte assets.
But for all I know it may go beyond that and perhaps one could become liable by default, by not expressly rejecting any claim by a certain deadline. I’m not saying that’s how it works here, just saying I don’t know and perhaps that may be the law.
In any event, I definitely agree with your recommendation that the OP promptly consult with a Taiwan lawyer who handles this area of law. A first consultation, by phone or email, should be free.
At least, now, as stated by OP, the kids have the chance to sign consent or refuse the inheritance, where the debts are bundled. This is actually a newer and if you ask me more humane development -last year, if I’m not wrong.
My boss, who’s a bit more knowledgeable due to family affairs, says if the sons gave up on the stuff, it is possible for nephews to be burdened. She says maybe the new law has fixed thsi already, but she’s not sure. Hence, best thing to do as MT says is get a local lawyer to have a look pronto. There is a three month deadline.
It’s my understanding that’s not correct in Taiwan. I know in the US, and perhaps most countries, one can’t inherit someone else’s debts unless one signed a contract agreeing to that. But it’s my understanding in Taiwan, at least if you affirmatively state a desire to inherit your father/mother/uncle/grandfather/spouse’s assets, if it turns out the liabilities exceed the assets you are then screwed and committed to assume liability for hte assets. [/quote]
“The Legislative Yuan yesterday (2008) officially ratified a set of revisions to the inheritance regulations under the Civic Code, allowing all inheritors to repay only part of debts by using the assets they inherit, if the debts exceed the assets they inherit.” (Click on the link to read more.)
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]But for all I know it may go beyond that and perhaps one could become liable by default, by not expressly rejecting any claim by a certain deadline. I’m not saying that’s how it works here, just saying I don’t know and perhaps that may be the law.[/quote]It’s not.
Article 1148 of the Taiwan Civil Code: [quote]“an heir assumes all the rights and obligations pertaining to the estate of the decedent at the time of the commencement of the succession…”
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But…
Article 1148: [quote]“An heir’s obligations to the debts of the estate resulting from a surety contract, which arises after the commencement of the succession, is limited to the extent of the property acquired form the estate.”[/quote]
Article 1176: [quote]“Where a person, who becomes an heir due to the waiver of other heirs, comes into a limited succession or waives his or her right to the inheritance, such limited succession or waiver must be conducted within three months after becoming aware of his or her right to the inheritance.”
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In simple terms, the OP’s wife has to be legally notified first. Since she is not in Taiwan, this is not going to happen anytime soon. Once she is legally notified, she has three months to waive her right to inheritance. No need to rush to Taiwan to waive inheritance on an insolvent estate. Even if the OP’s wife came back to Taiwan to manage the succession, she wouldn’t be liable for any monetary obligations incurred by the deceased.