Credit card debt responsibility

[Beezerbob]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TN

What is responsibility of spouse for deceased spouses credit card debt in TN? The card applications were not cosigned and only in the deceased name. Can the credit card company legally come after the home and car that are jointly held, or are they protected by TN law?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TN

What is responsibility of spouse for deceased spouses credit card debt in TN? The card applications were not cosigned and only in the deceased name. Can the credit card company legally come after the home and car that are jointly held, or are they protected by TN law?

You really need to consult a local attorney but I would recommend promptly changing the deed for the house and the registration for the car as they are passing to you outside of the estate. You also need to make absolutely certain that you do not use that credit card at all.

Generally, in a non-community property state a spouse is not responsible for the debts of a deceased spouse. However, the deceased spouse's estate IS responsible. So any assets that do not pass outside of the estate need to be use to pay the deceased's debt.

 

[Beezerbob]

You really need to consult a local attorney but I would recommend promptly changing the deed for the house and the registration for the car as they are passing to you outside of the estate. You also need to make absolutely certain that you do not use that credit card at all.

Generally, in a non-community property state a spouse is not responsible for the debts of a deceased spouse. However, the deceased spouse's estate IS responsible. So any assets that do not pass outside of the estate need to be use to pay the deceased's debt.

Thanks for the information. From what I had read I knew that IRA's were protected and assumed that jointly held property were exempt from collection, as TN was not a community property state. I do understand that all other monetary assets in the spouses name only, would be collectable by creditors.

 

[LdiJ]

Thanks for the information. From what I had read I knew that IRA's were protected and assumed that jointly held property were exempt from collection, as TN was not a community property state. I do understand that all other monetary assets in the spouses name only, would be collectable by creditors.

When someone passes away it works a little differently than you might think. Whoever is handling the deceased's estate (generally the spouse if they are married) is legally obligated to use the separate assets of the spouse to pay off the separate debts. If there is not enough money to cover all of the separate debts, then the money that is available needs to be pro-rated amongst the creditors. So, its not just that the separate assets would be collectable by the creditors, its actually the responsibility of the person handling the estate to make sure they are paid as much as can be paid.