united-states criminal-law wills
Can beneficiaries be pursued for damages inflicted in life?
<p><em>This is only for fictional literary research</em></p>

<p>If a person confesses to a crime on their deathbed, one that caused unfathomable property damage and loss of life, will their heirs be forced to forfeit the estate left to them in that person's will?  What about portions of the estate given to them in life?  Will they be permitted to retain copyrights or patents created by the deceased?</p>

<p>It doesn't matter if a debt arises as a result of normal commercial transactions or because of liability for a legal wrong - if you owe money you owe money. While you are alive you are responsible for settling your debts out of your assets as and when they fall due. When you die, your executor has the same responsibility.</p>

<p>The executor's first responsibility is to settle the debts of the deceased - only after they have done this can they make distributions to the beneficiaries. One of their duties is to advertise the death of the person and invite anyone who has a claim against the estate (as a creditor or beneficiary) to come forward - the law puts time limits on how long they have to do so. If some of these liabilities are disputed then the executor must hold back enough funds to cover the disputed amount (and the costs of defending against it).</p>

<p>Intangible assets (copyright, patents etc.) are no different from tangible assets - they can be offered to the creditor to (part) settle the debt or the can be liquidated (sold) to get cash to settle the debt if there is insufficient cash in the estate.</p>

<p>Once all known debts have been settled or successfully denied the executor can distribute whatever assets are left in accordance with the will (or the law if there is no will). If they do all this in accordance with the law then they have no liability. The beneficiaries never have any liability.</p>

<p>Sometimes the estate will be insolvent - its liabilities are greater than its assets. The executor's duty in that case is to follow the applicable bankruptcy law.</p>

<p>Merely saying that you committed a crime does not render you liable for either punishment or restitution - those rely on a court verdict, and you can't try a dead man.</p>

<p>Depending on the jurisdiction, it <em>may</em> be possible for the victims to sue the estate for compensation, and persuade the judge that the confession is sufficient evidence. If they are successful, where the beneficiaries of a post-mortem judgment rank in the distribution sounds like a particularly abstruse bar exam question.</p>

<p>It is unlikely that gifts made during the donor's lifetime would be invalidated by something nobody knew about at the time; except for possible tax liability, the solvency of the deceased would not be affected by later actions.</p>

<p>All this, of course, ignores the huge moral and social pressure that would be exerted on both the executor and the heirs, because that is not a legal question.</p>
