@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
What happens to the status of a joint credit card account if one spouse passes away?
And what happens if a primary card holder passes away and their spouse, who is an AU, survives?
1. Joint accounts: The surviving spouse is liable for the entire debt. Does the surviving spouse typically retain the same CL?
2. AU account: It depends on the card agreement. With USAA, American Express and possibly others, the AU is liable for their own use of the card if the primary cardholder for whatever reason does not pay. Interesting. Thank you.
1. I have no idea about what the card issuer will do about the CL. To be on the safe side, you might want to expect a creditor to CLD depending on the creditworthiness of the surviving spouse. I wonder if you spouse would even want to volunteer that information if they were worried about a CLD.
2. This has been part of AmEx's standard provisions from day one. What many people do not know, is that many other banks are following in the AmEx tradition.
Here is an actual excerpt from USAA's current, standard Credit Card Agreement:
Part D: Your Bills, Liability, And Promise to Pay.
11. Your Promise to Pay. ... If you not a Liable Party and you use this Account or allow someone else to use this Account (whether or not you are an Authorized User under Section 13), you promise to pay us for any transactions you or the person you permit make on this Account (plus related fees, Finance Charges and Other Charges) if we request payment from you. In that case, your liability does not relieve any Liable Party from his or her liability for your transactions until they are paid, unless they are Unauthorized Transactions.
Note: Liable Party = account owner / applicant or co-owner / applicant [Part D, Section 12]
Especially when dealing with credit card accounts where one or the other spouse is an AU, the effects of an AU liability clause can be particularly nasty if things start to go South. Only thing nastier could be living in a community property state.
To be fair, however, I have also seen many instances where AmEx and USAA have not gone after AUs when, in fact, they could have. In the case of an elderly couple where one passes away, I think chances are they would not hold the surviving AU spouse liable.
