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From my understanding, the bills in his name are separate from the ones in your name. If he dies, then the bills die with him, I think?
I was wondering about this with my mother, I was on her bank statement recently and I asked about any outstanding problems if she were to pass, would I be responsible, they said yes because my name was on it also. So, I had her remove my name from her account. now if something happens to her, I am not responsible for any of her delinquent accounts.
you can check with a lawyer and call the credit companies, they should be able to give you accurate info.
But I think as long as the bills are in separate names, they stay separate, but I could be wrong. worth checking into, though!
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 I was widowed we didnt have any cc bills, so I cant say for sure, but during #2, when his cc annoyers would call concerning his cc they and he was not home the asked if I was authorized on the card. When I said no they would not give me any additional info. So Id say Im not responsible for paying the debt.
As far as other debit, yes. After dh#1 death, I was responsible for his debts.
The specifics may vary from state to state, but I always thought the estate of the deceased is responsible for all bills and the spouse is not responsible unless they were on a joint account. Now, assets may have to be sold to pay off those debts....but I'm not sure how that works for the other spouse if they are both owners of the home. I'm sure someone will come along who knows how the courts handle these cases.
This is really a good question that we should ALL know the answer to! Thanks for bringing up the topic.
Sportsfan
You might want to think about that. You will not be able to acess her money to take care of things when she is gone. Her deliquent accounts will most likely be settled thru her life insurance and assests. We actually made a point to put all siblings names on moms bank account and home. It made things way easier when she passed.
I believe if a bill is in your name only, your wife is not responsible for paying it. But, that doesn't mean it won't cost her. Your estate would then be responsible for paying all your bills. I'm not sure if anything you own in both your names would be at risk, but anything in just your name would be divided up before your wife gets her portion.
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2mares
Sportsfan
You might want to think about that. You will not be able to acess her money to take care of things when she is gone. Her deliquent accounts will most likely be settled thru her life insurance and assests. We actually made a point to put all siblings names on moms bank account and home. It made things way easier when she passed.
Preliminarily, when a person dies, his/her bills are paid off the top, before the spouse can inherit anything. Additionally, spouses are responsible for each other's "necessaries", such as food, clothing and medical care. If you use your credit card to purchase any of those things, the credit card company will be able to go after your wife for it.
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.
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.
Again, with the exception of necessaries.
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