Legal analysis
Children are not obliged to pay the debts owed by their fathers. But children have the obligation to support their fathers. The problem of debt collection puzzles many creditors, so in real life, when many creditors fail to collect debts from debtors, they will choose to collect debts from their relatives, and the most common thing is to ask their fathers to pay their debts. If the heir renounces inheritance, he may not be liable for paying off the taxes and debts that the decedent should pay according to law. After the heir has paid off the debt with all the property left by the decedent, no matter whether the debt has been paid off or not, the heir has no obligation to continue to pay off with all his property unless voluntarily. From the point of view of protecting heirs, the principles of voluntary inheritance and limited inheritance are stipulated, which completely negates the saying that "father's debt is compensated by son". Because of the implementation of the voluntary principle of inheritance, the heirs can decide whether to accept or give up inheritance according to their own wishes. If the decedent leaves more property, the heirs can choose to give up inheritance so as not to repay the debts for the decedent. Even if the heir chooses to accept the inheritance, it is only limited to the inherited property and is responsible for repaying the debts owed by the decedent before his death.
legal ground
Article 161 of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC) (hereinafter referred to as "Civil Code") stipulates that the successor shall pay off the taxes and debts that the decedent should pay according to law within the limit of the actual value of the acquired inheritance. The part exceeding the actual value of the estate shall be voluntarily repaid by the heir. If the heir renounces inheritance, he may not be liable for paying off the taxes and debts that the decedent should pay according to law.