As of April 30, 2019, there have been 258,537 individual bankruptcy filings nationwide with Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases representing 98% of all cases filed. Inevitably, at least one or more debtors will die during the pendency of an individual bankruptcy proceeding. The outcome of the proceedings will vary depending on a number of factors which are addressed by this article.

In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court in Marshall v. Marshall recognized that the probate exception to federal court jurisdiction reserves to state probate courts the probate or annulment of a will and the administration of a decedent’s estate; it also precludes federal courts from endeavoring to dispose of property that is in the custody of a state probate court.