Credit Card Debt After Death

Credit card debt after death, if you are wondering about it, there is no easy answer. Laws vary depending on where you live, but one thing is for certain. If the credit card account was only in the name of the deceased person, then the credit card company has no choice but to forgive the debt. The estate of a deceased person is that persons assets and liabilities. If there are not enough assets to cover the person’s credit card debt, the credit car company has no choice but to ignore the credit card debt. If there are enough assets to help pay for the debt that that person has, only then are the assets distributed to the heirs (after the estate has paid off the debt). This means that although a deceased one’s family can’t legally be pursued by the credit card companies, it means that the inheritance, which they’d get, will be smaller if there is some sort of credit card debt involved.

Although collection agencies may try to go after anyone connected to the deceased person’s debts (especially if the debt amount was for a lot of money), they cannot legally make you pay anything, despite their threatening calls.

When can credit card debt be inherited?

When someone has a joint account with the deceased person, the credit card company may go after him or her.

In Community Property States (Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin) assets (and sometimes liabilities) are jointly shared by a husband and wife. Although the exact rules vary from state to state, a widow or a widower may be responsible for the credit card debt if he or she lives in a community property state.

My other credit card debt related hubs:

Affordable Bankruptcy: Chapter 13

Cost of Bankruptcy

Houston Credit Card Debt: Getting Out of Debt From Your Houston Credit Cards

How to Deal With Los Angeles Credit Card Debt

How to Legally Eliminate Credit Card Debt

How to Get Low Cost Bankruptcy Service

And, of course, I have this "Credit Card Debt After Death" Hub.