Need advice regarding credit cards with death of the card holder

[Jnbmom]

Just an update. I spoke with discover they were very nice stated that I would receive a call or a letter from one of their companies to just verify that there was no probate etc I am sure that is pretty standard in these situations. I have a few others to call and I hope they go as smoothly.

Thanks again

[Jnbmom]

Well finally got around to calling her credit card companies. I contacted Chase, capone, snychrony and Amex. All were very kind and it went smoothly, stated I may be receiving a call or a letter from their estate company verifying there were no assets/estate. Which I am sure is how that goes, I am sure they will conduct a search for assets etc and see there are not any. 

Funny though Amex asked if I would like the account changed to my name and take over, ummmmm NO, found that kinda of odd lol.

[UncleB]

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@Jnbmom wrote:

Well finally got around to calling her credit card companies. I contacted Chase, capone, snychrony and Amex. All were very kind and it went smoothly, stated I may be receiving a call or a letter from their estate company verifying there were no assets/estate. Which I am sure is how that goes, I am sure they will conduct a search for assets etc and see there are not any. 

Funny though Amex asked if I would like the account changed to my name and take over, ummmmm NO, found that kinda of odd lol.

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I'm glad to hear it all went smoothly... your experience closely mirrors my own a couple of years ago.  The letter(s) you get are really just a formality; there will probably be a short form for you to check a box for 'no estate' which you'll send back in a postage-paid envelope.  The few that we got didn't even require a signature (YMMV on that, of course). 

American Express offering to let you take over the account is unusual, but you're not the first I've heard of getting that offer.  I'm with you, though, there is certainly no reason to take it over, especially if there was a balance due.  (I can see how this could be helpful for a surviving spouse in a community property state, though, since they are often still responsible for any balance... in that case there's nothing to lose.)

[Jnbmom]

Yes I understand. Hey I may have if it didn't have a balance since the limit is higher than they every gave me.

[Pikaboo-icu]

Really glad to read this.

You've been in my thoughts.. What a sad time of year for this- I'm still very sorry..

I'm glad it's all going smoothly for you- the last thing you need is added stress.

[Jnbmom]

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@Pikaboo-icu wrote:

Really glad to read this.

You've been in my thoughts.. What a sad time of year for this- I'm still very sorry..

I'm glad it's all going smoothly for you- the last thing you need is added stress.

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Thank you. Everyone has been so kind and helpful. Yes I am trying not to stress,  still waiting on insurance so I can pay the funeral home, a little stress with that until I can get that done but I am handling it

[blindambition]

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@Jnbmom wrote:

My mother passed away this past saturday, although she has not been well for quite sometime, it has been a very hard loss.

She has around 6 cards currently with balances,  she has zero assets and does not have any estate or any money left.

I need to know how to handle this correctly? Do I just call the credit card companies and notify them of her passing? I know I need to close her accounts of course,  do I them tell them there was no estate, do they just close them and then do I send a copy of her DC? She had a very small life insurance policy which is barely covering her funeral expenses,  so there really is nothing left to pay off this debt.

Thank you 

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I’m so very sorry for your loss. I went through this with my mother in Jan. 2014. Same circumstances and no issues.

I recommend you contact bureaus on your own. A copy of your ID and DC, along with her ID. Just ask for it to be frozen. You don’t have to worry later about fraud.

I also recommend opting her name out of mail. It’s amazing how it will still come, especially junk. Five years later and I’ll get the random piece.

Wishing you peace and strength.

[Jnbmom]

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@blindambition wrote:

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@Jnbmom wrote:

My mother passed away this past saturday, although she has not been well for quite sometime, it has been a very hard loss.

She has around 6 cards currently with balances,  she has zero assets and does not have any estate or any money left.

I need to know how to handle this correctly? Do I just call the credit card companies and notify them of her passing? I know I need to close her accounts of course,  do I them tell them there was no estate, do they just close them and then do I send a copy of her DC? She had a very small life insurance policy which is barely covering her funeral expenses,  so there really is nothing left to pay off this debt.

Thank you 

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I’m so very sorry for your loss. I went through this with my mother in Jan. 2014. Same circumstances and no issues.

I recommend you contact bureaus on your own. A copy of your ID and DC, along with her ID. Just ask for it to be frozen. You don’t have to worry later about fraud.

I also recommend opting her name out of mail. It’s amazing how it will still come, especially junk. Five years later and I’ll get the random piece.

Wishing you peace and strength.

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Thank you.  Yes my father passed 6 years ago, he never had a credit card so I didn't have to deal with this with his passing, but yes didn't think about mail, I still get random things for my dad.

[ToughFistFight]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Big hugs and positive thoughts for your family at such a hard time.

[Jnbmom]

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@ToughFistFight wrote:
I'm so sorry for your loss. Big hugs and positive thoughts for your family at such a hard time.

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Thank you