Settling the financial affairs of a deceased loved one is a difficult, but necessary task. If the deceased had credit card debt, the executor or administrator of the will is responsible for informing creditors of the death and, if the funds exist in the estate, paying the debt.
Death Certificates
When a loved one dies, the family of the deceased, or the executor of his will, should order multiple copies of his death certificate. Insurance companies, government agencies, employers and creditors often request official proof of a person's death. The deceased's creditors will want to see a death certificate before stopping collection efforts.
Notifying Creditors
The executor of the estate should contact each of the deceased's creditors to notify them of the death, and may also need to publish a notice in a local newspaper to ensure that all creditors have a chance to submit their claims to the estate. Creditors should be directed to submit their request for payment to the executor.
Contact Credit Bureaus
The recently deceased are a favorite target of identity thieves. While the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, do get death records from the Social Security Administration, it can take awhile for them to update their records. If you contact the credit bureaus at once, you can prevent further hassles caused by someone using your loved one's credit history to run up debt.
Authorized Users
An authorized user of a credit card is able place charges on the card, but isn't legally liable for making payments on the account. Many banks will simply cancel the card when informed that the primary card holder is deceased, so authorized users should be prepared to lose their charging privileges. The authorized user should call the card company and ask that it remove her name from the account to avoid potential collection activity or damage to her credit report.
The one exception to the rule that authorized users are not responsible for paying off the card is when the authorized user is married to the cardholder, and they live in a community property state. Under community property laws, spouses share equally any debts acquired by one spouse during the marriage, even if only one spouse agreed to the debt.
Collection Agencies
Some debt collection firms specialize in collecting debts from families of the deceased, even though family members are usually not responsible for paying the debts. If a debt collector contacts you, refer him to the executor of the estate. Do not agree to take responsibility for the debt and do not give the collector information about yourself, such as your work phone number. If the debt collector persists in calling you, the federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act gives you the right to stop communications by sending a cease and desist letter via certified mail to the debt collector.
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