If a person dies with outstanding debts, does the family inherit the debt?

If a person does not have a spouse, or children, are their siblings responsible for their debt when the person dies?
It amazes me how many people try to give inappropriate, simple, blanket answers to questions, when the issue is often much more complex.



Speaking from a U.S. perspective, the handling of such debt depends on the state(s) involved and the type of debt it is. Generally, when someone dies and they have unsecured debt (like a credit card), the creditor will have to write off the debt. Creditors of unsecured credit have the last