Are Relatives Responsible for Credit Card Debt of Their Deceased Loved Ones
There seems to be a little bit of a misconception as to whether or not debt is transferable to relatives and or heirs. With mounting credit card debt such as it is, we felt as though this would be a good topic to discuss. While it is true that in years past through history debt and liabilities were indeed passed on through bloodlines, that practice is no more.
Children used to actually be forced into labor to pay off their parents debts. That tradition however, we are glad to say, has been abolished. The United Nations in 1956 prohibited it from being passed to relatives by outlawing this ancient practice.
Let us use credit cards as an example. The credit card debt dies with the individual unless you are a cosigner on any their credit card accounts. If you are in fact a cosigner then you most certainly are liable for any and all debts incurred. But once again, as long as you are not a cosigner then you are not liable for any of their debts.
The credit card companies can however recover the money they are owed from the estate of the deceased. Assets and property are paid out to the creditors according to what is owed them. If the deceased leaves no estate then the credit card companies are simply out of luck and the debt dies along with the deceased.
If you are the executor of the estate you will have some say as to the order that the debts are paid off to the creditors but you are not however liable in any way for paying those debts yourself. Of course, the exception to this rule is, as we have stated earlier, if you are a cosigner on any of the accounts that money is owed on.
Laws do of course vary from state to state but in general there is no obligation to ever assume the debts of a deceased relative if you are never party to those debts to begin with. The same laws apply for those acting as an executor of an estate. While you are in charge of distributing assets accordingly, including paying assets to creditors that are owed money, you are not personally liable for any debts.
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