Is an heir required to personally pay the debts of the deceased?

In principle, an heir is not to pay the debts of the deceased beyond the value of the assets he receives in estate.

The debts of the deceased form part of the and should normally be paid from the estate's assets part of its liquidation.

Thus, simply accepting an does not mean that the heir automatically becomes responsible, their personal assets, for all the debts left by the deceased.

This protection, however, has . An heir may, in particular, become liable for debts the value of the assets they inherit in certain situations stipulated by , notably when they:

• to exempt the liquidator from taking inventory;
• to intervene within the prescribed time when he knows that the liquidator or neglects to make the inventory;
• confuses, the inventory, the assets of the estate with his personal assets;
• in the liquidation of an estate without respecting the rules provided by in the circumstances where these rules must be followed.

It is therefore important not to confuse the acceptance an inheritance with an automatic obligation to personally pay the debts of the deceased.

When the estate has debts or its solvency is uncertain, the inventory and compliance the liquidation rules help to preserve the protection that heirs generally .