The Steps to Separate a Deceased Spouse From the Credit Report

If you have recently lost your spouse, you probably don't want to think about closing his credit cards yet. However, you must contact your spouse's creditors as soon as possible to inform them of the death and close your spouse's accounts. Notification prevents identity thieves from using your late spouse's name, and bill collectors from contacting you looking for your spouse. If you live in a community-property state, all debt may pass to you; otherwise, you will be responsible only for paying off joint accounts.

Contact Credit Bureaus

Send a letter to the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) informing them of your spouse's death. Include both your Social Security number and your spouse's Social Security number, as well as both of your full legal names and any other name under which your spouse opened credit. Provide your spouse's date of death and attach a copy of the death certificate to your letter. Send the letter via certified mail and ask for delivery confirmation to ensure each credit bureau receives the letter.

Contact Credit Card Companies

If your spouse had any credit cards in his name, you must inform them of his death as well. Get a final statement from each credit card company listing any balance your spouse owed and give it to the executor of your spouse's estate. The executor must use estate assets to repay your spouse's debts; if the executor cannot do this, the creditor must write off the spouse's debt.

Joint Accounts

If you and your spouse had any joint accounts, such as joint credit card accounts, you must reopen these accounts in your name only and continue paying the balance on them. You are legally responsible for the debt attached to these accounts. If you fail to pay the debt, the creditor can take adverse action against you such as referring your account to a collection agency, garnishing your wages or repossessing collateral for a secured debt.

Closing Credit Report

Experian states that it will not close a credit report after receiving a letter informing it of a customer's death, as identity thieves could easily use the deceased customer's name without its being detected. However, Experian will flag the account as belonging to a person who is no longer alive, and if a customer attempts to open a credit account in the customer's name, it will notify the lender that this customer name belongs to a deceased individual. The other credit bureaus follow similar procedures.