If the deceased has any outstanding credit card bills, do not pay them directly.

Instead, they should be paid for with money from the Estate during Probate.

Surviving family members are not personally responsible to pay credit card debt, except for:

• Those who have a co-signed or joint account with the deceased


• Those who are legally required to Administer the estate, but did not comply with state Probate laws


• Spouses who live in states which require certain types of credit card debt be paid directly (ex: healthcare costs)


• Spouses who live in Community Property States such as AK, AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, OK, TX, WA and WI

To learn more about settling an Estate, or the Probate process, review items in the Estate section of the checklist.