My father has about $24,000 in credit card debt in his name. When he dies who is responsible. He is married.
Does he own a house? Have savings? have investments? They will go after all that if any are in his name.
The policy of most banking institutions is to request the debt to be settled by the serviving family. You can simply refuse to settle the debt and there is nothing they can do. They cannot forclose on property, place bad credit reports on family bureau reports, or anything else.
THEY MAY JUST WRITE IT OFF, OR they will try to "LIEN" the property, (house, savings, checking, 401K, IRA, land, stock, etc.)... OR, they may just ask your mother to take over the payments and accounts, even if they are not "JOINT" accounts.
I believe there is insurance you can buy on credit cards to prevent just what George said. But it may only be for the Platinum level. You can find this information on most of the Card Issuers sites. Good Luck
