quite breakdown of the situation
State of california
Father recently passed away with 10K in credit card debt, we were joint tenants in a house, paid off
I understand that I am not legally liable for his CC debt, but since he had assets that could cover the debt, are those assets legally bound to paying his CC debt?
I have had some mixed info, and before I get into a real legal mess I would like to take care of it, I have had enough headaches with this shit so far

Is his CC debt something I can ignore after sending them death certs, or am I better off just paying off his debts before I end up in a legal mess over this?

Your dad's estate owes the debt, not you.  If your dad had assets - a vehicle, bank or investment accounts, other real estate besides the house, etc. - then those are part of the estate and they can be liquidated to cover the debts.  Since you were joint tenants on the house I don't believe that it's part of the estate, ownership passes directly to you.

Has probate been opened?  Have you talked to a probate attorney yet?

I have a apt with a probate attorney in a few days here.
so the house is not part of what can be taken to cover the costs, but the vehicle is in his name
can things like guns and tools be held as part of the estate? that's all he had left worth money besides a truck worth about 3K on Kelly blue book

I hate to feel like part of the FSA or something over this, but its not like he used the CC to pay for cool shit that I now have, he had reoccurring kidney stone problems that prevented him from working for the better part of 3 years and used his CC to make the bills at times, most of his guns and tools I took over are older than I am

After talking with the probate attorney you should talk with the creditors. They may cut you a deal for less than was owed.

When my Father passed away, I notified his cc companies and asked for proof of amount due as I had planned on paying it from his account. One or two card companies nulled out his bill and said that I didn't have to pay. He (like myself) paid his total cc bill each month so he wasn't carrying any large balances and that may make a difference. But it is always worth asking.

the CC companies will lie and tell you anything to get money and turn the debt over to collections.

You need to start the message with I'm notifying you that you can't call us due to this being a business phone.

Would you be willing to write down the debt to $500 dollars becuase he has no assets and send me a letter accepting this new amount.

Then obtain and  follow legal advice. Most elder law attorneys will answer questions for free. try this guy - he answers elder law questions for free.

http://www.lentillem.com/podcasts/

Refer all claims against the estate to the probate lawyer. That's what probate court does. It determines the value of his estate and any claims against it.

Technically, I think they could demand an inventory of your father's personal property - vehicles, tools, guns, jewelry, antiques, etc., but they probably won't bother. It's rarely worth the trouble unless he had a collection of first generation Colts or something like that.

You should also review his credit card agreement to see if included a death benefit that paid against the balance.

Make sure you get more than one opinion from different probate attorneys.  Trust is important.  You want an attorney who will advocate and advice in your interest.