Death of a spouse
If you've lost a spouse, you're already going through one of the most emotionally
draining experiences possible. When a loved one dies, there are also numerous
financial matters to deal with, including
credit and
debt
issues. There are, however, some simple steps you can take now to help down
the road.
Stabilizing your credit in the event of a death can be difficult, especially
if your spouse held all of the credit in his or her name. Keep in mind that
in community property states,
credit accounts opened during marriage
are automatically joint. That means you are still responsible for any debt that
your deceased spouse incurred.
By law, a
creditor cannot automatically close a
joint account
or change the
terms because of the death of one spouse. Generally, the
creditor will ask the survivor to file a new
credit application in his
or her own name. After reviewing the new information, the creditor will then
decide to continue to extend credit or alter the
credit limit. You might
want to open a new credit account in your name. In doing so, keep in mind that
you must use your name only when applying. Including your deceased spouse's
name will result in a joint account. Finally, to limit the fraud risk posed
by
pre-approved credit cards in your deceased spouse's name, call
1-888-567-8688 to
opt out the deceased's name from lists for pre-approved
offers from all three major
credit bureaus.