Do I inherit my spouse's debt?
For survivors of deceased loved ones, including spouses, you're not responsible for their debts unless you shared legal responsibility for repaying as a co-signer, a joint account holder, or if you fall within another exception.
You are generally not responsible for someone else's debt. When someone dies with an unpaid debt, if the debt needs to be paid, it should be paid from any money or property they left behind according to state law. This is called their estate.
Most states use common law (also known as equitable distribution), which dictates that married couples don't automatically share personal property legally. In other words, you aren't responsible for your spouse's debt unless you took it out together as a joint account, or you cosigned on it. There are a few exceptions.
If you live in a community property state, you probably will be responsible for debts accumulated by your spouse during the marriage. (These states are California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Wisconsin, and Louisiana, while Alaska, South Dakota, and Tennessee make it optional.)
Most of the time, you are not responsible for paying your spouse's credit card debt. This is true even if you are an authorized user on a credit card. The only instances where you may be obligated to pay is if you are a joint account holder or if you live in a community property state.
Prenups don't just protect you after the marriage ends, but they can also protect you during the marriage. Let's dive in. Prenups can dictate financial obligations during the marriage, such as whether or not you two maintain separate bank accounts or joint bank accounts.
Additional examples of unsecured debt include medical debt and most types of credit card debt. If you die with unsecured debt, repayment becomes the responsibility of your estate.
In most cases, the deceased person's estate is responsible for paying any debt left behind, including medical bills. If there's not enough money in the estate, family members still generally aren't responsible for covering a loved one's medical debt after death — although there are some exceptions.
A court must grant you the power to withdraw money from the account if you're neither a joint owner or an account beneficiary. For example, an executor must produce proof of executor status and a certified copy of the death certificate to collect funds and place them in an estate account.
Address Financial Accounts
For accounts that were only in your spouse's name, you may have to close the accounts. For joint accounts, you'll likely retain the account with full access and will just need to have their name removed. If your spouse died with debt, let those lenders know they've passed.
How do I protect myself from my wife's debt?
There are ways to protect yourself from the debts of your spouse that are accrued during the marriage. The easiest way is to make sure your spouse signs a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage, but you should not try to do this on your own. Prenuptial (premarital) agreements are complex documents.
In common law states, you're usually only liable for credit card debt if the obligation is in your name. So, if the credit card is only in your spouse's name, you're typically not liable for that debt.
Sometimes, the decedent leaves behind unpaid debts. If that happens, a creditor could intercept a beneficiary's inheritance to repay the money owed to them.
A mortgage lives on after the death of the borrower, but unless there is a co-signer or, in community property states, a surviving spouse, none of the deceased person's heirs are responsible for paying the mortgage. Those who are in line to receive an inheritance may be able to take over payments and keep the house.
In California, creditors only have one year to collect on a debt. It doesn't matter if the surviving spouse didn't take out a line of credit or lease a car, if their name is on it, it's a community asset and if there's still debt on this asset, it's known as a community debt.
Credit card debt doesn't follow you to the grave. Rather, after death, it lives on and is either paid off through estate assets or becomes the responsibility of a joint account holder or cosigner.
Financial infidelity occurs when one partner hides or misrepresents financial information from the other, such as keeping secret bank accounts or hiding purchases. It does not necessarily involve marital infidelity, though it can lead to divorce.
If there's no money in their estate, the debts will usually go unpaid. For survivors of deceased loved ones, including spouses, you're not responsible for their debts unless you shared legal responsibility for repaying as a co-signer, a joint account holder, or if you fall within another exception.
There are two types of debt you could inherit from your parents: loans you co-signed for them and medical debt (in certain states). Over half of U.S. states have filial responsibility laws, which say adult children may be responsible for their parents' care expenses if they can't support themselves.
In conclusion
It's important to remember that credit card debt does not automatically go away when someone dies. It must be paid by the estate or the co-signers on the account.
How do you get the $250 death benefit from Social Security?
You can apply for benefits by calling our national toll-free service at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or by visiting your local Social Security office. An appointment is not required, but if you call ahead and schedule one, it may reduce the time you spend waiting to apply.
However, once the three nationwide credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — are notified someone has died, their credit reports are sealed and a death notice is placed on them. That notification can happen one of two ways — from the executor of the person's estate or from the Social Security Administration.
Naming a joint owner, such as a spouse, for your bank accounts is one of the simplest ways to ensure the accounts don't wind up in probate court. After you die, the remaining joint account owner will simply take over the accounts.
Report the person's death to banks, credit card companies, credit bureaus, and other financial organizations. And contact utilities and places where the person had memberships and subscriptions. Learn from the Federal Trade Commission what to do about any debts the person had.
The most important thing for family members and other heirs to know is that they should never forge the signature of the deceased to pay bills or use the person's ATM or debit card to get cash. That's fraud.
