Types

• Married couples may have jointly owned assets, as well as independently owned assets. This includes credit cards, which may be held individually in the name of each partner in a marriage, or may be held jointly between the couple. While married couples may file joint tax returns, existing in the eyes of tax authorities as a single entity, each partner in a marriage still maintains an individual credit history; joint credit histories do not exist.
  
  

Effects

• Since married partners may hold credit cards both individually and together, whether or not a living spouse is legally obligated to repay credit card debt incurred by the deceased spouse depends on which type of credit card the debt has been incurred upon. Jointly held credit cards, or some cards on which the living spouse has been added as an authorized account user, become the responsibility of the living spouse. However, credit cards individually held by the deceased are the responsibility of the estate of the deceased, and not of the living spouse of the deceased.
  
  

Considerations

• All assets in a deceased person's estate must first be used to pay off outstanding financial obligations. The order in which these obligations must be satisfied is determined by the laws of the state in which the deceased lived. States typically prioritize items such as funeral, probate and outstanding medical costs before unsecured debts, such as credit cards. However, you should be aware that credit card debts must be satisfied by the estate of the deceased prior to any distribution of inheritance to heirs--including spouses.
  
  

Problem

• Although a living spouse may not be responsible for the debts of a deceased spouse, that does not mean that debt collectors will not try to appeal to your sense of moral obligation in order to try to get you to pay your dead spouse's debts. If you feel as though you want to satisfy this debt, there is no reason you should not, as long as you are aware that you are under no legal obligation to do so. You should also be aware that debt collection companies are required to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and not harass you.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, if you want debt collectors to stop contacting you regarding your spouse's debt, explain that your spouse has died and direct them to the executor of your spouse's estate. If the debt collectors persist, send them a certified letter with return receipt requested, and keep a copy of it in your files. In the letter, state specifically that you wish no further contact from the debt collection agency, and that you are directing all further queries from that agency to the executor of the estate. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt collectors may not continue to contact you once they have received such a letter.