Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in South Carolina

Re: What happens to my debt?

If your father passes and he has unsecured debts at the time of his death, the creditors, if he is a South Carolina resident, must file a claim with the Probate Court within the applicable time period after the estate has been opened in the Probate Court. I believe that is eight months. If the creditors do not file a claim with the Probate Court, then they will be barred from collecting, assuming your mother is not a co-obligor on the card. If she is a co-obiligor, then she will be obligated on the card. I don't believe that they would be allowed to garnish her Social Security check, even if they are claims that survive probate. The South Carolina Consumer Protection Code doesn't allow for garnishment with regard to consumer debts. In South Carolina life insurance passes to the benefciary outside the Probate Court (assuming the estate is not the beneficiary under the policy), thus any claims against your father's estate would not affect the life insurance proceeds. This one reason these credit cards have such high interest rates (the companies often don't collect all what is owed).