Who Is Responsible for Credit Cards If a Parent Dies?

After the tragic loss of a parent, money is often the furthest thing from your mind. But if your parent had active credit card accounts at the time of her death, you may be worried that you are responsible for any debt. Fortunately, in most cases you aren't responsible for credit cards after a parent dies.

Joint Debt

Some credit cards allow two people to use the card at the same time with both names on the account. Although these joint accounts are normally held by spouses, they can also work for a parent and child. If you hold a credit card account jointly with a parent and the parent dies, the credit card debt transfers to you, the other joint credit card holder. You would then be responsible for paying off the debt as if the credit card was exclusively your own.

Cosigned Credit Cards

If your parent wasn't able to get his own credit card due to bad credit, you may have had to act as a cosigner to help him get the card. Similarly to a joint account holder, you would still be accountable for the debt after the parent's death. This is the chance you take when becoming a cosigner on an account.

From the Parent's Estate

If you weren't a joint account holder or cosigner to your parent's credit card, you are not liable for the debt after death. In this case, the money owed to the credit card company is taken from the parent's estate. For instance, if your mother dies and has enough money in total estate funds after death, the creditor can take the total amount of the debt after funeral expenses have been paid, according to BCSAlliance.com. This is only the case if there's enough money left in the estate.

Without a Large Estate

There may be a chance that your parent's estate doesn't fully cover the debt incurred with the credit card. When this happens, the remaining estate amount after funeral expenses is divided up equally between all creditors, including credit card debt, though the creditors may not get the total amount they require. In cases where there is no estate money at all, the credit card company will incur a loss. Although they may ask you to pay for your parent's debt, you aren't responsible. If there is an issue, you can contact your parent's executor with any questions about money and the handling of credit card debt.