I had a collections agency come after me when the hospital screwed up some of their paperwork. So, my experience says yes but perhaps a lawyer could answer this question better.

Good luck on your new place.

If you can get a lawer. I believe that if the credit card etc was just in his name and not joint they can only come after the estate. but i woudl get legal councilor
Good luck

If the credit card is only signed by your husband you are not responsible. Even if you were an authorized user and had a card with your name on it, if you did not sign the original application they need to dismiss it. I had one credit card insist I had also signed the application. I wrote a letter insisting that they send me a copy of my signature or I wouldn't pay. They didn't send it, I didn't pay, and it has been dismissed and removed from my credit report. Even if they tell you over the phone, do not pay unless you see your signature.

I heard that hospitals do not bill if the person dies. Don't know if this is true - but - my husband died over 5 months ago and I still have not gotten anything at all from the hospital or doctors so I assume it is true. Five months is quite a long time not to receive any bills. I did not get a lawyer - it's not necessary for credit cards. Good luck.

When my husband's brother died in 2007 he left credit card debt behind. My husband contacted the credit card companies and got them to accept a very small portion of what he owed. So long as the cards were in his name only, you should be able to get them to forgive most of the debt.

I know Stephen just called them and said, "This is all the money there is, take it or leave it" and they did.

You should contact a lawyer for advice before you do anything.

I'm going to respond again. I would contact the credit card companies before paying an attorney. It was the credit card companies (three of them) that informed me that I did not owe because I had not signed. There were all very nice. There was no need for an attorney because they all knew what the law was. I would not have known myself that I did not owe if they hadn't told me. In fact two of them (Best Buy and Discover Card) had been informed of my husband's death (I don't know how) and they were the ones who called and told me I no longer owed money and they were the ones who explained to me what the law was. They were all very pleasant, helpful and seemed happy to tell me I no longer owed money. My husband was unemployed when he died and I've lost my job so this was a godsend.

It depends on where you live. If you are in a community property state, then you are responsible for the debts regardless of whether you signed an application or not.

You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to get a lawyer's advice. You can probably get it answered online - here's a website where you can pay to get one question answered - I used it to get a car mechanic question answered (they were right by the way) but they also have lawyers available. Try here for a few bucks:

http://www.justanswer.com/

Alternatively, you can contact your local bar association. Every bar association has a lawyer referral service, including to lawyers who will give free or low fee advice. I don't know where you are or I'd find the link for you. Search on the name of where you live and "Bar Association referral service" and it should come up.

I do NOT live in a community property state. However, I was an authorized user on an account my husband had. They made a mistake on how they reported the balance that was paid. It was "Paid off" in full two years before Cliff died, they reported it as "charged off". I didn't know that until it cost me 3 points on a home equity loan because it showed up on MY credit report - even though it was technically not my account it was Cliff's. It's worth it to be cautious and get the legal advice or you may have trouble getting a mortgage loan or at least a good rate on a mortgage loan.

Hope this helps. Love and Hugs, Martha

When my husband passed away in Nov I called the credit card company. Was told to send a death certificate. The card was only in his name. I am not responsible for the bill.
Best of Luck