Depending on the jurisdiction, filing a claim against an estate for a debt may be very different than filing a claim against a trust. In Indiana, filing a claim against an estate is a formal process. The claim must filed at the clerk’s office and notice must be provided to the appropriate parties. There are limited windows in which a creditor may file a claim against either an estate or a trust. The rules for filing varies, but it is extremely important to be aware of deadlines and statutorily defined limitations.
The moral of the story is if you are owed money by a decedent, take the appropriate, timely action. File a claim with the estate timely in the clerk’s office. If you’re dealing with a trust contact the trustee promptly. Do not let the trustee drag the discussions out too long because after the window for filing is closed, the discussions will end quickly.
See Christopher W. Yugo, Filing Claims Against a Trust, nwi.com, July 2, 2017.
