Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia
In the case of a parents death leaving credit card debt behind...what if the 'estate' is a parents bank account with little money in it and outstanding medical bills? The card company claims we have to pay but we are not on the card as users or guarantors. A house was in the parents name and the daughters name but has since been put solely in the daughters name as she was the primary payee of the mortgage anyway. Do we have to pay the cc anything?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The executor/personal representative of the estate has to collect the assets and liabilities of the estate and distribute them in accordance with the law and the will. If there are insufficient assets to cover the liabilities, and there aren't guarantors of the outstanding debt, the credit card companies can't obtain the shortfall from the children of the deceased simply because they are the children.
All too often, credit card companies bully and guilt payments from the relatives. If you didn't guarantee the debt, you aren't responsible.