&gt; The creditors have to sue the estate, not the relatives, and if the estate is empty, they are not going to get anything. If they sued the relatives, the suit would be thrown out rather quickly. Heirs are not liable for the deceased&#x27;s debts.<p>That is definitely the case in the US, but I would hesitate before assuming it&#x27;s that way everywhere else in the world.<p>I do know that there are cases in Japan where the deceased parents of suicides have had to pay compensation for the externalities of the suicide, in particular for the decreased property value of the apartment that they committed suicide in. I don&#x27;t know how or why they had to do this, just that it is a thing that happens.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.tofugu.com&#x2F;2012&#x2F;11&#x2F;12&#x2F;japanese-suicide-apartments&#x2F;http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.tofugu.com&#x2F;2012&#x2F;11&#x2F;12&#x2F;japanese-suicide-apartments&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.tofugu.com&#x2F;2012&#x2F;11&#x2F;12&#x2F;japanese-suicide-apartments...</a>