48 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • MAY 2, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
Elder Law Minute TM
Handling the Debts of an Estate
BY RONALD A. FATOULLAH, ESQ.
AND DEBBY ROSENFELD, ESQ.
ELDER LAW
Most people know that the main purpose
Sociologic Aging
Sociologic aging is a composite of
expected social roles that are appropriate
to one’s chronological age, culture
and capacity.
Th e following terms are invariably
associated with aging (i.e. age norms,
social time clock, age grading, etc.),
descriptive terms that individuals occupy
at any given time in their lives.
Birren and Schroots ar e social scientists
who off er us a concept entitled “eldering”
that describes a process by which elders
begin to fi ll roles expected of them about
their place in society as they “grow” into
old age.
Sociologic aging looks at various societies
that have diversifi ed traditional
backgrounds such as the United States
where fl exibility for these roles are identifi
ed as age related with expectations that
eventually become the norm.
Social scientists have in the last decade,
been focusing their attention on the
numerous interactions that pertain to
age and cohort in an attempt to study
the social aspects of aging from what is
known as a “lifespan perspective.”
Psychologists oft en focus on life span
development whereas sociologists speak
of it as a “life course.” Life course is composed
of elements that make up the timing
of events in one’s life from the “cradle
to grave.”
Life course is primarily concerned with
the complexities of aging and the numerous
predictable and unpredictable events
that occur in an individual’s lifetime. Th is
has, unfortunately, caused some theorists
to conclude that aging in adulthood is but a
random process about change and with no
discernible patterns to speak of.
Th ere are still many areas of adult development
about aging that have been minimally
explored which may yet be the answer
to what is meant by maturity and old age.
Love, compassion, creativity, and wisdom
are areas that need more attention and may,
in the future, yield specifi c patterns that will
explain the aging process fully.
Th ere are also tentative theories about
aging that tend to recognize changes
about time, self-concept, hope and future
orientation as one grows old. And there
are those in similar professions who
believe that the sense of inner control has
more important ramifi cations of how we
age. Being old is an art, a science and a
challenge!
Here are several researched questions
for you, the reader, of how one feels about
their own aging:
1. What physical changes can you attribute
to your aging?
2. What factors do you feel contribute
to your survival?
3. What do you believe are those identifi -
able factors that off er an extreme longevity?
Dr. Sheldon Ornstein is a
registered professional nurse
with a doctoral degree in
nursing organization. He
has specialized in the care
of older adults and has
published many articles on
the subject. He has done
post-graduate work in gerontology
and has taught
at several universities. In
2013, he was inducted into
the Nursing Hall of Fame at
Teachers College, Columbia
University.
4. Do you believe wisdom and creativity
can be cultivated and demonstrated
in old age?
5. Do you see advanced old age as a
challenge or something to fear?
I hope you will explore and discuss
these questions with family and friends
as a way of how they can infl uence your
view of aging and longevity, and that can
carry you into a healthy old age.
Quotable Quote: “Against the assault of
laughter, nothing can stand.” Anonymous
Sheldon Ornstein Ed.D, RN, LNHA
of a last will and testament is to
direct how one’s assets are to be distributed
upon one’s demise. Interestingly,
a will can serve other purposes as well.
Any parent can appoint a guardian for
his/her minor child through a will. A
will can also be utilized to instruct one’s
executor and heirs how to pay any debts
remaining at death.
Typically, a benefi ciary of a will (heir
and benefi ciary are used interchangeably)
cannot inherit any debt of the person
who died (the “decedent”); however,
debt can ultimately reduce the amount
that is received by each benefi ciary.
Th e executor of a will has a fi duciary
responsibility to the estate and has the
obligation to make sure that all of the
decedent’s wishes are brought to fruition.
Inherent in this role is the duty to
ensure that all of the decedent’s debts
are properly paid. Th e executor may be
required to sell off a property held by
the estate in order to provide suffi cient
liquidity.
A decedent can leave two diff erent
types of debt: One type of debt is
secured debt which is attached to a specifi
c piece of property. An example of
this is a car loan or a mortgage. Th e
other type of debt is unsecured debt
which is not supported by any underlying
assets. A credit card bill is an example
of unsecured debt.
When one leaves property to one’s
heirs with debt attached to it, the debt
remains with the property. For example,
if a mother leaves a home to her son that
has a mortgage of $200,000, he inherits
the home with the mortgage and
essentially assumes the debt. Th e son
has the choice of selling the home and
using the proceeds to pay off the debt,
or keeping the home and continuing to
pay the mortgage. When an individual
draft s his/her will, such considerations
should be kept in mind. If one knows
that a specifi c benefi ciary may have diffi
culty handling debt, one can direct
that another asset in the estate be sold
in order to address any debt attached
to other assets. However, people oft en
develop certain attachments to property,
and an individual may feel strongly
that he/she does to want a specific
investment property to be sold. Th is
again can be specifi cally expressed in
the will, but in that case there needs to
be direction as to how any debt attributed
to such property should be handled.
Th e will allows for these directions to be
articulated.
Unsecured debt is not passed along to
the benefi ciaries. Nonetheless, the executor
still has to make sure that the decedent’s
debts are paid off before distributing
any assets. Again, how this debt
should be paid can be specifi ed in the
will. If there are no specifi c instructions
as to how estate debt should be handled,
the executor ultimately must make the
decision, but it must be a prudent one.
We highly recommend that one consult
with an attorney well-versed in the
area of estate planning and administration
in order to address all of these concerns.
Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. is the founder
of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates,
a law fi rm that concentrates in elder
law, estate planning, Medicaid planning,
guardianships, estate administration,
trusts, wills, and real estate. Debby
Rosenfeld, Esq. is a senior staff attorney
at the fi rm. Th e law fi rm can be
reached at 718-261-1700, 516-466-4422,
or toll free at 1-877-ELDER-LAW or
1-877-ESTATES. Mr. Fatoullah is also
a partner with Advice Period, a wealth
management fi rm that provides a continuum
of fi nancial and investment advice
for individuals and businesses, and he
can be reached at 424-256-7273.
RONALD FATOULLAH
ESQ, CELA*
/WWW.QNS.COM
