Creditor claim period

What it means

The period usually runs from the date notice to creditors is published, or from the date a known creditor is mailed notice — whichever applies to that creditor.

A claim presented in time has to be considered. A claim presented late is generally barred, even if the debt was real.

A separate outer limit often runs from the date of death regardless of whether notice was given at all.

Why it matters

It is the difference between an estate that can be closed and one that stays open. Distributing before it ends is one of the few ways an executor can end up personally liable.

It also protects the family: a debt collector contacting relatives long after the period has closed may be pursuing a claim that no longer exists.

When you are likely to meet it

• After notice to creditors is published.
• When a collector contacts the family about a parent's debt.
• When deciding when it is safe to distribute.

How this varies by state

The length of the period, when it starts, and the outer limit measured from the date of death are all set by state law.

Related terms

• Beneficiary claimThe request a named person makes to an institution to be paid what they were named on. It is not a claim against the estate, and the two are opposites.
• ExecutorThe person named in a will to carry it out — once a court actually appoints them.
• Family allowanceMoney a court may allow a surviving spouse and dependent children to draw from the estate while it is being settled, ahead of most creditors.
• Fair Debt Collection Practices ActThe federal law limiting what a debt collector may do — including who they may discuss a dead person's debt with.
• Fiduciary dutyThe obligation to act for somebody else's benefit rather than your own — and to be able to show you did.
• Insolvent estateAn estate that owes more than it holds. State law then decides who gets paid, in what order, and who gets nothing.
• Medicaid estate recoveryA state's claim against the estate of somebody whose long-term care Medicaid paid for, to recover what it spent.
• Notice to creditorsA formal announcement that an estate has been opened, which starts the clock on how long anyone owed money has to say so.
• Priority of claimsThe statutory order in which an estate's debts are paid. Paying out of order is the executor's own liability.
• RepossessionA lender taking back property that secures a loan, when the payments stop.
• Secured and unsecured debtWhether a debt is attached to a particular thing. It decides who has to be paid, in what order, and what happens if the estate cannot pay everyone.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Debts after a death