yeah I had that too.

After saying the telephone needs to be put into my name because my wife had died and send the bill c/o the estate they still sent a letter threatening to take my dead wife to court.

You would think these things never happened before the way that big organisations are incapable of dealing sensitively with these events.

I know the feeling. One somehow found out about his death before I even received the next bill, sent me condolences and even told me I was not responsible for the debt. I sent copy of death certificate and a letter stating there was no estate, but now they say I am responsible! I need to find the original letter and tell them to stop calling! Maybe I just need to record your message on my answering machine!

Are you guys saying that we aren't legally responsible for their bills now that they are gone? I thought we stepped in to take their place and I've been paying everything as it came along, all his final bills. He had his own credit card and I had mine, for example. It didn't add up to that terribly much, but I didn't realize we weren't necessarily obligated to pay their bills.

I paid all of the bills. The ones in joint names and the ones in his name and my name. DH always believed that all you really own in life is your good credit and your good name. I feel it would be a dishonor to him to have paid the last of his bills.

I too paid all the bills, whether in my huband's name or my name. Like M8370, my husband believed in owing up to one's debt, and we both had very good, if not outstanding credit.

I didn't pay his bills nor do I feel bad about it. I can barely pay my own and after our daughter ravaged my bank accounts I am filing bankruptcy as are a lot of other people. Good credit. I would rather have my husband back than good credit. People have very poor priorities if that is what they believe is important. I would live in a cardboard box if I could just have him back. apparently having the 2 mercedes in the garae is what is important. Because the only thing that lasts is love not bills, cars, or any kind of things.

I paid nothing as well I can't pay my own bills it took everything we had to keep afloat while my husband was sick....I am at that same place stuff is just that stuff none of it means anything anymore. I lost my business, my motor home, 2 cars and my husband.... the only thing I miss is my husband.

If you live in a "community property state" you are likely to be liable for the debts of your deceased spouse. The community property states are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

This also doesn't necessarily let you off the hook in the other 40 states. With the law, the devil is always in the details. It's a good idea to get a bit of legal advice to find out whether or not you do have to pay their debts. You don't need to pay a lawyer thousands of dollars for this kind of information either. Basically one hour of an attorney's time should do it, and if you go through your local bar association's lawyer referral service, you can probably get that one hour for low fee or no fee. Some bar referral lawyers will give you an hour as low as $25-50. It's worth a call to find out.

This wasn't an issue for me as Cliff and I held everything jointly - which was a hold over from our days in California, a community property state. My name was all over everything, so I knew I was responsible. The only thing held solely by one of us was the mortgage and that was in my name only although title was joint with right of survivorship, which was a good thing as it turned out. I got legal advice about clearing the title.

How each of us deals with self-preservation is an individual choice. I am still here, I have to live my life and provide for my kids, and I would rather do that with my financial opportunities still intact. It's been difficult financially to meet all of our obligations, but I still have a future - as do my kids - so I'm continuing on with it.

Love and Hugs, Martha

They're legalized loan sharks, as far as I'm concerned, and I won't pay them one penny. As far as my husband's good name. It's quite good in Heaven so I'm fine with that.

I live in Louisiana which is a community property state and didn't realize in some states you are not responsible for a spouses' bills. I assumed in a non-community property state that it just applied to assets, not bills. Learned something.

All my husband's outstanding bills were paid. That being said, if you are unwilling or unable to pay the indebtedness, consult an attorney or legal aid for advice. I am a Florida resident but also live in Missouri and, if I had chosen not to pay the bills, they could not have collected any funds from me.

My 2 cents, if you can afford to pay them, you're blessed. If you have to chose between putting food on the table and maintaining a credit rating........ it a no brainer. People first.