John and Mary own a restaurant together through a limited liability company which they are co-members. They are also owners as tenants in common of the building where the restaurant is located. They are also married and own a home as Joint Tenants with rights of survivorship.
Recently John and Mary borrowed $50,000 from the equity in the building which already had a $200,000 debt against it which was personally guaranteed to update the signs for the restaurant. They received the money from the bank and were about to order the signs when John unexpectedly passed away. Mary couldn't deal with any business issues and decided to use the $50,000 pay for John's funeral and make gifts to family members who had always been supportive of John and Mary.
Since Mary has not been paying the bills for the business or even her personal bills since John died all the creditors are writing her letters stating they will be suing her for money. One creditor went so far as to suggest there may be some fraud involved. She has in fact essentially been living off the corporate credit card because the Restaurant isn't open.
What should Mary do? Does she need to probate an estate? Who owns the building, the restaurant? Does John's portion of the debt owed die with him? Is Mary acting fraudulently?