Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia
My grandmother passed away in December. My question is can credit card companies keep adding interest to credit card debt after the person passes away? She was the only one on the accounts. There is no money in the estate and we are trying to sell the property but it will probably not sell quickly and will probably bring less than $90,000. Her debts are about $40,000. The credit card companies keep calling my uncle asking for the money since he lived with her. The credit cards are bank and store cards.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Merely because your uncle lived with your grandmother does not make him responsible for debts that are chargeable to her estate as long as he was not an authorized user on these credit card accounts. And these collectors who are calling him should be told that in no uncertain terms----and not to keep calling or they may end up with nothing a all.
As to whether creditors can keep charging interest to credit card accounts
after the account holder has died, I do not know the answer. (It may be that they
can as long as the claim is chargeable to the decedent's estate.)