An estate is simply the legal term given to the net worth a person has after they die. There&#x27;s a legal process that allocates the dead person&#x27;s resources according to various factors. Generally a person&#x27;s debts will be satisfied first. Then whatever&#x27;s left gets divided according to the person&#x27;s will, if any. If there is no will, a judge will divide assets up amongst surviving relatives. If there is nothing left after satisfying debts, then heirs get nothing. If there is no will and no heirs, the estate goes to the state.<p>Typically if a person&#x27;s net worth is negative, debts are not passed on to heirs, leaving creditors to sue for relief. Again, jurisdictions vary, and I would expect there are many other factors at play in a country like Japan where keeping the family&#x27;s social standing intact may be worth paying off those the deceased wronged instead of dragging the dead person&#x27;s dirty laundry through the court system even if there&#x27;s no chance of winning.<p>Jurisdictions vary, but I would imagine in a case such as the aforementioned, the state wouldn&#x27;t take the whole estate, only part, after debts are satisfied.<p>A phenomenal article on this aspect of the &quot;what happens after you die&quot; question is this one:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;18&#x2F;nyregion&#x2F;dying-alone-in-new-york-city.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;18&#x2F;nyregion&#x2F;dying-alone-in-ne...</a>