How to Remove a Deceased Spouse's Debt

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) entitles each individual to an accurate and fair credit report. The only debts that should appear within your credit file are those that you signed for yourself. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for an individual to pass away while still owing outstanding debts. Even if his spouse is not legally liable for the debts, his creditors are likely to attempt to collect from her. It is illegal, however, to insert a deceased spouses debt onto the surviving spouses credit report. If this happens to you, there are steps you can take to have your deceased spouses debt removed from your credit history.

Instructions

1

Verify that you are not responsible for the debt. If the original account was a joint account, you and your spouse are both equally liable for the debt. If the account was solely in your spouses name, however, it should not appear on your credit report.

2

Notify the creditor that is reporting the debt on your credit report in writing that you do not currently owe the debt and never did. Stipulate that the debt belonged to your spouse, who is now deceased, and if the debt is not promptly removed from your credit report, you intend to file a lawsuit for a violation of the FCRA.

3

Pull your credit reports after 30 days to ensure that the debt has been removed.

4

Write a letter to each credit bureau, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, if your deceased spouses debt still appears within your credit history. Explain that the debt belonged to your deceased spouse and that it was not held in a joint account. Provide a copy of your picture ID, a copy of your Social Security card, and an original death certificate for your spouse. Additional death certificates can be purchased from your county's vital records office.

5

Give the credit bureaus 30 days to investigate the inaccurate entry on your credit report. If the entry is still in your spouses name, the credit bureaus should remove it immediately. If, however, the creditor transferred the debt into you name, the credit bureaus will each contact the creditor for verification. If the creditor does not or cannot verify the debt, it will be removed from your credit report. You will then be mailed an updated copy of your credit files from each credit bureau.

6

Sue the creditor for violating the FCRA if it verifies the accuracy of the entry to the credit bureaus. The majority of creditors would prefer to remove the entry rather than fight you in court.