Creditor is defined as?

• A. A beneficiary
• B. A transfer of personal property by will.
• C. A devise
• D. Any person having a claim against a decedent or an estate.

Answer: (D)

A creditor in estate matters means any person or entity with a claim against the decedent’s estate. This covers debts the deceased owed or other claims against the estate that must be settled through probate before anything is distributed to heirs or beneficiaries. The idea is to identify who is owed money by the estate and who must be paid from estate assets.

The other terms describe recipients or transfers, not claimants. A beneficiary is someone who inherits property; a transfer of personal property by will is a bequest; a devise is a gift of real property by will. None of these describe someone with a claim against the estate, which is why they don’t define a creditor.