If the deceased had more debts than assets, it is necessary to deal with the estate in a different way from a normal administration. In these circumstances:

Sometimes the proceeds of the deceased's life insurance policies are preserved from the bankruptcy. If so, they are distributed according to the will or the intestacy rules. Whether this is possible depends on whose life is actually insured, the type of risk insured against and how long the policy has been in force before the date of bankruptcy. Of course if the policy does not belong to the deceased the proceeds are not available for the deceased's creditors. They would belong to the owner of the policy. If for example, the spouse has insured the life of the deceased, the spouse will be entitled to the policy proceeds.