Q: My mother-in-law passed away in May. She had a small savings account and very little in her checking account. She also had a $2,500 life insurance policy. We had to pay for all the funeral expenses and she had a $1,800 Visa bill.

Are we responsible for paying for her credit card debt? We have been paying it so far.

A: Unless you were signers on this account, you do not owe any money to this credit card account. Call Visa. Tell them your mother-in-law died and that there are no assets in her estate.

You should not have been paying for this, although I admire your interest in paying off your mother’s debts. But these are her debts, not yours.