Re: How to delay a moving van?

David Friedman <ddfr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In article <1iaxktd.16hq7ji15wxvstN%heather.jones@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
heather.jones@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Heather Rose Jones) wrote:

<snip for conciseness>

(Hey, I actually get to talk about my WIP! Cool!)

One major plot point in my WIP (the one I'm pretending is "just to get
back in practice writing") is a particularly arcane set of
inheritance-of-debt laws. (The setting is a fictional country in a
fantasy version of historic Europe, so I get to invent things like legal
details with impunity. As long as they have sufficient internal
consistency, of course.) The underlying concept in this legal system is
that if you stand in a relationship to the debtor such that you'd have a
legal right to a share in a positive inheritance (e.g., spouse, minor
child), then you can't escape a share of the debt responsibility. The
flip side is that the creditors can only sue for specified, current
assets, and can only sue once for inherited debt.

Does this mean you have some version of bankruptcy? Why can the
inheritor go bankrupt when he runs out of assets, when the initial
debtor couldn't? Is the crucial element that the point at which you go
bankrupt is being chosen by the creditor?

In essence, the primary debtor doesn't have the option of bankruptcy,
but the debtor-by-inheritance does (as you note, with the timing chosen
by the creditor). It may help to know that the
our-world-historical-parallel era is roughly ca. 1800 and the people
involved are on the cusp of the
moneyed-middle-class/precarious-upper-class where ruin and success rub
elbows. To the extent that there's a logical underpinning to the
concept (as opposed to the usual complex anecdotal history built up
through the equivalent of case law), it's that the primary debtor made
the "choice" to go into debt and therefore should not be absolved of it
and shouldn't be allowed to "hide" assets by making them a legacy, but
the heir(s) are felt to have some expectation of leaving the debt behind
them at some point and being allowed to go on with their lives,
especially via some rite-of-passage point that normally involves a
change of financial responsibilities and ties. So, for example, a widow
is liable for her late husbands debts unless and until she remarries (at
which point her assets are joined with her new husband's and since he
isn't liable for the original debtor's debts, she is now free of them as
well). Similarly a debtor's minor child at the time of his death is
liable until s/he attains majority (or, in the case of a daughter,
marries). The general concept being that inherited assets that _should_
have been available to pay the debt at the time of the debtor's death
can't be "hidden", with the creditors' access to assets acquired by the
heirs after his death being an unfortunate side-effect.

The social consequences, of course, are many and various. Just as a
random example, a minor daughter in this position who has some small
amount as a dowry will find it hard to contract a marriage since the
moment a betrothal is rumored her father's creditors will see that as
their point of maximum opportunity. On the other hand, depending on the
amounts involved, it may not be worth the creditors' time and effort to
continue tracking the heirs throughout the period of their liability.
But there's always the possibility ....

The key plot point (which I'm not ready to give away, although it will
likely be somewhat obvious in context) is even more complicated and
involves some malice on the part of the deceased debtor.

Heather
--
Heather Rose Jones
heatherrosejones.com
lj=hrj
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Do debts live on
    ... >>> If the deceased had given away asset within a few years of death, ... >>> creditors, could not the creditor attempt to claim back such amounts? ... the situation does not arise *until* the debtor dies. ... It is to prevent dishonest people who are in debt from giving away all ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: [yank] just because you are sneaky, DOOM AND GLOOM SPAM - ignore
    ... >> radical idea that it involves a debtor not having to pay a debt>> owed ... It ought some if BS's assets. ... You assume a liability. ...
    (misc.invest.stocks)
  • Debtbed
    ... your debt and leave very little for your family’s food, medicine, ... exactly what our government has been doing for years. ... interest, with the knowledge of the creditors, the creditors may be ... latest addition being the NBN (nationwide broadband network) deal, ...
    (soc.culture.filipino)
  • Solving the Phil. National Debt
    ... exactly what our government has been doing for years. ... called "Odious Debt". ... interest, with the knowledge of the creditors, the creditors may be ... on with the latest addition being the NBN (nationwide broadband ...
    (soc.culture.filipino)
  • Re: OT Since we live in a blogocracy...
    ... Mortgage debt rose by $4.7 ... Instead of spending money on productive assets we are actually ... This fostered risky credit card lending in the ...
    (rec.outdoors.rv-travel)