What Happens if a Guarantor on a Lease Dies?

Things can get a bit complicated in the event that a guarantor passes away during the term of a lease agreement. As long as the tenant continues to pay the rent, everything will stay the same. If the tenant is unable or unwilling to pay rent, however, then the landlord can seek payment from the guarantor’s estate, instead.

Every state has some form of legislation governing the procedure for making claims against a dead guarantor’s estate, many of which derive from the Uniform Probate Code.¹ In many situations, the person responsible for managing the guarantor’s estate after their death may be willing to simply pay the money owed to the landlord to satisfy the debt, eliminating any need for the landlord to proceed further with a legal claim. But if the person responsible for the estate declines to pay the money owed, the landlord can take their claim to court.