Credit Card Debt Follows You To The Grave

If a person dies while still in debt, their family members will not have to pay that balance, as credit card debt is not bound to assets.

The only way for immediate or distant family members to have to pay for the credit debt, is for them to have co-signed on the card. Technically, a co-signer has just as much responsibility to pay off the debt than the cardholder, so it may be best to avoid co-signing altogether, according to The New York Times.

If a family member dies, it is imperative to know that no one in the family is responsible, regardless of what collection agencies may tell you.

"You have to establish the ownership of that debt - that’s the first thing you do." Jean Setzfand, the American Association of Retired Persons' director of financial security told the news source. "If there are no co-signers, really you want to distance yourself as much as possible from it."

The card could be paid off from money in the estate, but there is a long list of expenses that need to be paid before credit card fees, so the collections agencies might be out of luck.