https://avukati-mt.com/questions/can-i-be-held-responsible-for-my-deceased-parents-debts-in-malta/ Search for lawyers Mon, 03 Aug 2026 03:23:21 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 https://avukati-mt.com/questions/can-i-be-held-responsible-for-my-deceased-parents-debts-in-malta/#comment-928 Mon, 03 Aug 2026 03:23:21 +0000 https://avukati-mt.com/questions/can-i-be-held-responsible-for-my-deceased-parents-debts-in-malta/#comment-928 Under the Civil Code, Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta, when you accept an inheritance in the ordinary way (pure and simple acceptance), you generally accept both the assets and the liabilities of the estate together, meaning you could potentially become liable for the deceased’s debts, though generally only up to the value of the assets you actually inherit rather than facing unlimited personal liability beyond what the estate itself is worth, particularly if the acceptance is properly structured. Given your specific concern about debts, it’s worth knowing that you have real options here rather than simply having to blindly accept whatever the estate turns out to contain: you could formally renounce the inheritance entirely if the debts appear to significantly outweigh the assets, or in some circumstances, accept the inheritance under benefit of inventory, a specific procedure which more clearly limits your liability to the actual value of the estate’s assets by requiring a formal inventory process, rather than accepting outright without that protection. Given how much depends on properly understanding the true financial position of your parent’s estate before deciding how to proceed, it would be strongly advisable to have a lawyer help you investigate the actual assets and liabilities involved before formally accepting the inheritance in any form.

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