Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

Yes and no.

You're not directly responsible. However, a creditor may come before you in inheritance, so the amount she owes could reduce your inheritance from her. There are ways to minimize that impact, and that alone could be a good reason for each of you to do some estate planning with a lawyer.

Generally, no. From a strict legal standpoint they can go after anyone using the card and buying goods, authorized or not, but that is rare card issuers would go to that trouble to find out. The estate is liable for the debts, and that often has a significant effect on the living spouse -- often when there has been poor planning. Otherwise, people are generally liable only for their own debts.

I echo the above comments. For credit card debts, neither spouse is liable for the other's debts while everyone is alive. Once a spouse dies with debts, his or her estate becomes liable for those debts. Usually, there is an exemption for the surviving spouse whereby a certain amount of money is set aside, free of any creditors claims.

However, its not possible to know what the deceased person would own at the time of their death or what assets would be in probate as opposed to assets that have passed to the survivor outside of probate (like a joint tenancy with right of survivorship on a home or life insurance). It may be that the creditors will get nothing. Or they may get a portion of something or paid in full.

The best option is to plan ahead by having a will or revocable living trust. For that, see a lawyer. You will pay a bit more, but it is worth it. While simple forms (at www.nolo.com) might be okay, I don't know your situation and I don't know if such forms would be right for you. So don't try and save a few bucks and have it done wrong.