When a debtor dies, his estate must give priority to debts in accordance with the laws of the State and the debts as much as possible. Law in North Carolina state prioritizes extremely low on credit card debt, in many cases, the creditor will write off the debt, once she learns of the death of the debtor.
Federal Law
In general, the credit card debt belongs to the person who paid the price. Thus, if a resident of North Carolina owe money to credit card companies to his death, the executor must use the assets of the estate to repay the debt. If the estate does not have sufficient assets to repay the creditor to write off the rest as a bad debt.
Joint responsibility
If the debtor had joint credit cards with her husband, she becomes responsible for the debt in full. The spouse must pay or make arrangements to do with the company credit card to avoid credit ratings or negative action against it. In North Carolina, surviving spouses must also inform the credit card companies of the death of a spouse and close all credit card accounts of the spouse.
Order of Claims
Credit card debt and other unsecured claims are the lowest priority must address a succession in North Carolina. The executor of an estate must pay first the privileges of property and funeral expenses, including the cost of erecting a tombstone. If any funds remain, the executor must pay federal taxes and state. Then he must pay any judgment against the debtor and pay unpaid wages for employees of the deceased. The executor can only pay the credit card debt after satisfying all other obligations.
Distribution of funds
North Carolina law prohibits creditors from collecting debts heirs of deceased debtor, even if they receive benefits from life insurance or any other heritage. Creditors write any debt that the succession can not afford and can not threaten the heirs with a legal action or other consequences.
