Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

Credit Card Debt of Parent - Who is Responsible upon Death

A mother recently passed away leaving several thousand dollars in credit card debt and several thousand dollars in medical expenses. She has a small annuity (403B) of which the daughter is the beneficiary. Questions are: Can the credit card companies attach a lien to the 403b (although I'm not sure how they would find out about it) and who, if anyone is responsible for the medical expenses? The deceased has only $400 in checking and no savings account and owns no property.


Asked on 10/12/05, 5:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Guy Lewit Guy Mitchell Lewit, Esq.

Re: Credit Card Debt of Parent - Who is Responsible upon Death

The estate is responsible for credit card debt. In order to collect the debt a claim has to be brought in a formal proceeding against the estate (if any) and there appears to be none in your case. The annuity passes by operation of law to the beneficiary and is NOT reachable by any creditor in my view...but don't advertise its existance, of course. In a nut shell...don't worry, be happy. Good luck

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Answered on 10/12/05, 5:46 pm


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