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I'm no lawyer, but I'm almost certain that the widow, acting as executrix of her husband's estate, has to settle the debts before she fully inherits all his assets.
I know 10 years ago a credit card company came after my grandmother over my deceased grandfathers credit card bill. He was an irresponsible person with an alcohol problem and the bank gave him a card with a $10K limit when he was only getting $600 a month from SS. Basically she told them each time to get stuffed and that they were stupid for giving some drunk old geezer a big credit card when he hardly had any money. Finally they left her alone.
I think that everything is in one basket when your married and it applies to both.
My wife thinks if the credit card is in my name if something happens to ME she won't be stuck with that bill.
What are your thoughts?
When my father died, his wife was left paying off some of his outstanding bills. I'm not sure if this is a state by state issue or what, but there were a few bills that she HAD to pay.
by law (according to fair debt credit practices act) it is illegal to hold one spouse responsible for another's bill.
If it was for a mutual child, both are responsible. If it was for a CC or similar debt, what ever estate the spouse left behind (life insurance, etc), would be responsible but legally a company cannot go after the other spouse because their name / soc / signature did not authorize the debt creation.
This is correct. The estate is liable and creditors can go after the estate, not the surviving spouse except for child related expenses.
by law (according to fair debt credit practices act) it is illegal to hold one spouse responsible for another's bill.
If it was for a mutual child, both are responsible. If it was for a CC or similar debt, what ever estate the spouse left behind (life insurance, etc), would be responsible but legally a company cannot go after the other spouse because their name / soc / signature did not authorize the debt creation.
What if it's an unmarried couple living together as if they were married?
The creditors can file a claim against the Estate. And they will do so it the amount is worth it. That means that they may even file a lien against the equity in the house, or other assets, that will be paid off if the home is ever sold.
well, to make a long, painful story short. I preferred to be removed from her account because while it was set up that way for me to be able to write checks and pay bills for her if she was in the hospital, my mom is not responsible with her bills and doesn't pay them. I don't live with her or know her spending habits, but there was an overdraft that she got since I have stellar credit, but she wasn't paying it off and it kept growing.
So, since I do not want to be responsible for any of her debts, I asked to be removed.
Sportsfan
That makes good sense then. Sorry you have that situation. Im trying to protect my credit thru this divorce form the stbx. It sucks that someone else being irresponsible can ruin your credit.
I think you can have power of attorney without actually having your name on accounts. This allows you to distribute assets without personally being liable for a parents debts.
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