The deceased and credit cards.

smerka · August 2016

So you know my friend passed away last week. I'm helping the husband deal with the paperwork/financial stuff. What happens with their credit cards? She was the primary account holder but they were joint accounts. So does he call the credit card company and have her name taken off or does he need to get new accounts?

short+sassy · August 2016

Oddly enough, my H and I were talking about this the other day. He said, as long there is another person attached to/responsible for the account (not necessarily just a signer), it is okay to just leave it open and alone.

However, although he is an intelligent guy, I would not say he is the "be all and end all" for that kind of info.

hoffse · August 2016

My best guess is that he will need to open his own accounts, but that's only a guess. The reason I think that is because an authorized user on a CC is different than being a joint owner on a bank account with right of survivorship. Your friend was the primary account holder and credit was originally extended to her under her name, social security number, and FICO score, not his.

If I were him, I would make sure I had enough available credit in my own name as primary account holder. If not, I would open an additional card. And then I would call the credit cards that were in her name as primary to ask the question.

I could be totally wrong about this, but I would make sure to have enough primary credit elsewhere just in case they shut down the accounts. The customer service reps will know the answer to this question.

smerka · August 2016

I think they are joint accounts. Like they are both equally responsible. Is that even a thing?

AprilZ81 · August 2016

smerka said:

I think they are joint accounts. Like they are both equally responsible. Is that even a thing?

It is possible, but usually they just add an authorized user to the account and someone is still "primary".

Mustard76 · August 2016

It really depends on the institution. I have worked for two national banks, both very popular issuers of credit cards. Both of these banks have ownership options of joint and/or authorized user. For accounts that are joint responsibility, all we require is a death certificate and the account becomes sole-owned. Not all issuers are the same, but for both places I have professional experience with, it's actually very easy.

Edited for typos.

The deceased and credit cards.

Re: The deceased and credit cards.

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