Dear Penny: Am I Responsible For My Husband’s Massive Credit Card Debt If He Dies?
My husband has lots of credit card debt…too much. (My name is NOT on any of his credit cards.) He’s 60 years old, and if he were to die tomorrow, would I be responsible? We own our home jointly together; does that have any effect on the money owed on his cards if I were to sell the house (or not sell it)?
— In Love with a Debtor
Dear In Love,
What happens to your spouse’s debt after they die depends on a few factors — but, in most cases, you won’t be held responsible for credit cards that aren’t in your name.
If you live in one of nine community property states, any debt (or assets) your spouse acquires while you’re married are considered joint property. That makes it your responsibility as much as his. Community property states include:
- Arizona.
- California.
- Idaho.
- Louisiana.
- New Mexico.
- Nevada.
- Texas.
- Washington.
- Wisconsin.
The debt isn’t your responsibility if:
- You live in a state other than those listed above, or
- He acquired the debt before you were married, regardless of where you live.
In either of those cases, the debt is only in your husband’s name, and his estate will be responsible for repaying it after he dies. So the debt repayment would come out of the estate before any heirs would inherit the rest.
Speak with a lawyer about your home ownership arrangement and your wills to ensure you’ll retain the full equity in case your husband dies. That’s the most likely scenario for a married couple who owns property jointly, but some joint owners have an arrangement that splits the equity and would keep his ownership of the house with his estate. That kind of arrangement could mean his home equity could go toward debt repayment if he dies.
Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® and author of YOU DON’T NEED A BUDGET. She writes Healthy Rich, a newsletter about how capitalism impacts the ways we think, teach and talk about money.
