I think, and I could be wrong, that if the credit cards are in your wife's name only, and especially if you and your wife had separate bank accounts, you don't owe them a dime. Just provide a certificate of death and show them that there is no money in her estate, i.e. her bank account(s), and you should be fine.

My parents still have Mt. Sinai Medical Center coming after them to pay my brother's medical bills, and they just send them a copy of his Certificate of Death.

my name is vader.I am 67 years old and old enough to be your grandmother.I am sorry for your loss.But I think I can help you.I used to work as a temporary worker in a well known bank and this is what I know about credit cards.If the credit care is in your name and your name only..and some married people have separate bank accounts nowa days...you do not owe them anything.Just send them the certicaite of death and tell them about the state of money in her estate.,and you should be fine.Just provide the certifcate.i did this when my boyfriend died and i did not owe the bank one cent.I hope that this is of help to you.vader.

As long as you are not in a Community Property State (and I don't think you are), then her debts might be considered separate from your own. You will likely need to send them a copy of her death certificate. Make sure you have extra copies. The credit card companies may then want to make a claim against her estate.

If your name is anywhere on the accounts, they may expect you to pay. You may need to talk with a lawyer to get some advice on what is and is not your responsibility legally. Most local legal bar associations have a Lawyer Referral Service where you can get an hour of advice for a reduced fee or no fee dpending on your circumstances. In your area, there is a Volunteer Lawyers Project of the bar association, and you may be able to get advice through them. Here is a link:

http://www.nebar.com/?VLP

Another thing you may want to double-check is ton see whether any of her accounts had any free life insurance as a member benefit. Some credit and bank accounts do. It's usually something small like $1,000 - but even that goes a ways when you've got kids.

Money becomes an issue for those of us who lost a spouse, but especially if you have kids. If your kids are still in school, you may be entitled to receive survivor benefits for them from your wife's Social Security. It is worthwhile to call Social Security and apply. My younger son is disabled, and he was still in school when Cliff died, so he qualified to receive benefits. It is not a huge amount, but it certainly helps.

Also make sure you apply for the Social Security one-time death benefit of $255 if you have not already done so. It's a pittance, but even that helps.

Here is a link to the Social Security site info on Survivors:

http://www.ssa.gov/survivors/

Hope this helps.

Love and Hugs,
Martha

My wife and I did not have separate bank accounts. (I guess we should have.....) We just had the one shared account.

As opposed to having to pay off the cards, couldn't I have my name added to the accounts and continue paying on the cards??

Dan

my name is vader.I am 67 years old and old enough to be your grandmother...And let me say again I am so sorry for your loss.All I know is this ....if any account is separate..it is up to the person whose account the name is for the bills.I do not know about the adding on of another name.It is up to the bank and bank alone to do this.Please see a officer in the bank and they will help you.Thanks.

Most of the accounts we had were joint accounts, but there were a couple of them which we kept separate. I asked if I could convert the account to my name as I had paid the bills and the payments had come from a joint account. One said yes, one said no. It's entirely up to the creditor. If your name was not on the account, they can force you to go through the whole credit check process before they say yes or no. I don't know how it is for widowers, but a number of widows over the year came up against what were essentially widowed penalties. The rationale is that you went from two earners to one earner, so they reduce your credit and credit rating and also up interest rates, default penalties, and any fees. The mortgage was solely in my name, but title and the insurance was joint. I never missed a payment nor was I ever late on any payments. My husband died, my rates went up. I just tell you this so that you know that you may encounter resistance to the idea of taking over the accounts, or they may offer to let you do that but at a higher interest rate and higher annual fees (if applicable).

It's more salt they pour into our wounds....... sorry....

P.S. - I would encourage you to get an hour's advice from an attorney through that Volunteer Lawyer Panel. Know your rights where you are. Hugs.......

Hi Dan. Like Cliff'skat said, I would get a probate and estate lawyer. What I have been told is that when you die, what you own stands for what you owe. So anything of value that she owned solely, and anything she owned jointly with you or anyone else, has to go toward her debts. So bank accounts, vehicles, houses, etc. is what makes up her estate. Uncle Sam gets paid first, which would be any taxes. Then creditors (cards, bank loans, etc.) Whatever is left goes to her heirs. If she did not have much valuable property you can get away without going through probate. But I would get a lawyer's opinion on that. And it depends on what state you are in too. There are a couple of great books on handling a loved one's estate. Check that big on-line bookseller.

So sorry for your loss. Its tough to grieve and have to handle all the legal stuff. Plus you have the kids to take care of.

Take care and god bless.

I looked up Nebraska and it is not a Community Property state. That means that you are not responsible for any of the credit cards that your wife originally took out. All you need to do is call and tell them - in fact I do not believe any even needed my husband's death certificate. They are capable of looking up the information. It does not matter how much money you or your wife had - you will not owe anything that is billed to her.

In fact, I had two credit card companies call me and tell me that they were cancelling the account. They asked if the estate was going into probate - I said no - I was still living in the house. It does not matter if you have joint bank accounts. You do not owe for cards your wife took out - even if you also had a card. One of the credit card companies told me that they must have your signature on file as the one who originally took out the loan - even if you had a card with your name as well. If the credit card co cannot send you a copy of your signature - they cannot get you to pay it.

If you have a mortgage you may qualify for HAMP (different from HARP) which can reduce your mortgage. Sign up for social security for your children - it is based on the date of death.

Thanks for all of the responses. MGOULD, I hope you are right. I have already called one credit card company and they did ignore the remaining balance. (But I figured it was because it only had a 48 dollar balance.)

I will be calling the rest of the credit card companies tomorrow. Pray for me.......

my name is vader and I am old enough to be your grandmother.I wish you well and do remember this...Some money issues cannot be solved right away.My late boyfriend left a debt of 10,000 and 7,000 for college.He expected me to pay all of it.I went to a lawyer and the lawyeer told me that I was not responsbile.If we were married,I would be.But we were living together and I am not responsible for the above debts.Washington is a community state.And some married people that I know have joint bank accounts and I never did this.I always had my own account and I always had my own money which was smart on my account.The lawyer told me to bring the death certifcate which I did and I havent heard anything since.Thank God for this and I do not owe his brothers or sisters zilch either.Thanks for this lawyer.I hope that is of help to you.Vader.