etb: It depends on the law of the country, but you usually if you accept the legacy you take also the debts.
To coerce, usually they simply arrive in your home and start selling the not yours anymore stuff.
monkeydelarge: They arrive at your house and steal your stuff if you are related to some asshat in your family who borrowed a shit load of money and died?
moonshineshadow: As far as I remember in Germany you have two options. Either you say "ok I want to get the inheritance" or you can decline the inheritance. If you accept it you have to pay the debts but get the things the dead person left. So most people check the financial status of the dead person before accepting/declining it. And if they decline it, it happens that they just sneak into the apartment of the dead relative to sneak out some mementos before everything will be gone ;-)
monkeydelarge: Germany is a very advanced country so I'm not surprised the way they handle it is sensible. They give people a choice and that is sensible. But how do they handle this problem in the USA?
Student loans are often forgiven on death, I know that. For the rest I think it gets argued out in probate court. Debt collectors are pretty well-regulated too, and if they act up there are stiff legal penalties. I had a debt collector come after me incorrectly, and all it took was a letter and a few phone calls to get it cleared up. Stressful, but not a lot of work.
