Paying For Deceased Person’s Debts

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Summary: If someone dies without assets in their estate, there is no way to pay off that person’s debts. Without assets, the debts die with the person. Unless there are living cosigners on that person’s account, no one is responsible for ensuring those debts are paid.

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.

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Related Topics

• assets, 
• credit card debt, 
• debt, 
• estate planning

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