Insolvent Probate Estate Claim-Payment Priority in District of Columbia
At a glance
| Statutory payment order | Nine ordered classes; homestead and family allowance share class 4 (§ 20-906(a)). |
|---|---|
| Administration costs | Court/publication/bond costs class 1; fiduciary and attorney fees up to $1,000 class 3 (§ 20-906(a)(1),(3)). |
| Funeral and last illness | Funeral class 2, preferred up to $1,500; court may allow excess up to $5,000; last illness class 6 (§§ 20-906(a)(2),(6), 20-907). |
| Family and homestead allowances | Homestead and family allowance share class 4; exempt property class 5 (§§ 20-906(a)(4)–(5), 19-101.02–.04). |
| Taxes and public claims | No tax-specific class in the nine-class list; taxes must fit a stated class or the residual class (§ 20-906(a)). |
| Secured claims | Surrender security for full allowed claim; otherwise deduct realized or valued security; security enforcement preserved (§§ 20-912, 20-914). |
| Support and special debts | Attachable rent arrears class 7; D.C. court judgments/decrees class 8; no support-specific class listed (§ 20-906(a)). |
| General claims | All other just claims are class 9 (§ 20-906(a)(9)). |
| Underfunded class | No same-class preference, including due over not-yet-due claims (§ 20-906(b)). |
Requirements one by one
Nine payment classes
Under § 20-906(a), court costs, publication costs, and bond premiums are first. Funeral costs up to $1,500 are second; fiduciary and attorney fees up to $1,000 are third. Homestead and family allowance share fourth place, while exempt property is fifth. Reasonable necessary last-illness medical and hospital costs are sixth, attachable rent arrears seventh, District court judgments and decrees eighth, and other just claims ninth.
Allowances inside the ladder
Under § 19-101.02, the homestead allowance has claim priority subject to § 20-906. Family allowance is likewise subject to the payment order under § 19-101.04. Exempt property ranks behind those allowances under § 19-101.03 and class five of § 20-906(a).
Secured claims
Under § 20-912, a creditor who surrenders security is paid on the full allowed claim; otherwise the realized amount or agreed/court-determined value is deducted. Under § 20-914, mortgages, deeds of trust, pledges, liens, and other security interests remain enforceable in an appropriate proceeding.
What trips people up
Under § 20-907, the court may allow funeral expenses above $1,500 up to $5,000 in the specified cases, but § 20-906(a)(2) gives only $1,500 a stated second-class priority. Section 20-906(b) forbids preference among claims of the same class and between presently due and not-yet-due claims.
Common questions
Are all administration bills paid in one tier? No. Section 20-906(a)(1),(3) separates court, publication, and bond costs from capped fiduciary and attorney fees.
Does D.C. list a child-support or tax class? Section 20-906(a) names neither as a standalone category; it lists the nine classes quoted above.
Statutes and sources
- D.C. Code §§ 20-906, -907, -912, -914 and 19-101.02–.04. Verbatim official text, section URLs, and access dates appear in the source fields above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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