What Happens to Your Debt When You Die?

Debt doesn’t typically die when we do. So, what happens to your debt when you die?

A number of factors dictate what happens to debt when you die, including whether anyone co-signed on the loan, if the debtor had assets at death and what type of debt they held. The laws also vary from state to state.

Generally speaking, debts must be paid off by your estate when you die — if you have any assets. (We’ll get into co-signers, spouses and joint accounts a little later.)

For example: If you die with $100,000 cash in the bank and $10,000 in credit card debt, that debt must be paid off before anyone receives an inheritance — creditors are first in line for a decedent’s assets.

“Your executor or administrator — the person in charge of your estate — will pay off those debts with the assets left behind before your family receives anything,” said Carmen Rosas, a California-based estate attorney.

“Paying those debts could mean simply writing a check from a bank account or selling assets for money to make those repayments,” she said. Assets could include the person’s home, cars or other valuable items.

The executor of your estate should notify creditors, credit reporting agencies and banks of your death as soon as possible. By notifying these agencies early, there’s a better chance your family will prevent someone from stealing your identity for financial gain.

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Your executor can also request a copy of your credit report, which will tell them exactly what debts you had.

Creditors want — and expect — to be paid by your estate. They may make a legal claim in probate court. That is the legal process that oversees the handling of your estate.

It can take a while for your financial affairs to get sorted out. So creditors may agree to a settlement with your estate for less than the total amount of debt.

“They’d rather have 40 or 50% now than to have to deal with all the hassle and uncertainty of waiting,” said John O’Grady, a San Francisco-based estate lawyer. “Creditors all want cash, and they prefer immediate cash.”

If your assets don’t cover your debts, they typically go unpaid, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Here’s what happens to different types of debt when you die.

What Happens to Debt When You Die

Co-signed Loans and Credit Cards

If you have a co-signer on a loan, like a student loan, that person is responsible for paying off the debt if you die. The same is true for a joint credit card.

“Once you co-sign for any type of financial obligation, you are telling the bank that if the other person does not pay, you will be 100% responsible,” said Linda Kerns, an attorney in Philadelphia.

“My best advice for co-signing is that unless you are willing to pay 100% of the balance for which you are co-signing, you should not do it,” she adds.

In some states, called community property states, it doesn’t matter if your spouse was technically a co-signer or not — your assets are considered joint property. If one spouse dies, the other is responsible for paying off any debts that remain.

Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin are community property states. Alaska, South Dakota, and Tennessee give parties the option to make their assets community property.

If there’s no joint account holder and you don’t live in a community property state, credit card debt falls to your estate, and your assets will be used to pay it off.

Student Loans

If you borrow money from the federal government for college and you die, that debt goes away — the loan is automatically canceled.

However, private student loans aren’t canceled upon death. The lender will attempt to collect compensation from your estate.

Mortgage

When you die and have a mortgage, it doesn’t go away. If you co-owned the home with a spouse, the responsibility of the mortgage payments now falls solely to them.

If you were the sole owner, your estate may sell off your home to help pay off other debts. But if all of your other debts are paid off and you bequeathed the home to a family member, they’ll need to keep making payments to the bank or sell the house.

What if You Have No Assets?

If you die with debts and no assets (and no co-signers), the creditors are simply out of luck.

“The best planning is to die with no assets,” O’Grady said. “Spend it, give it away while you’re alive, enjoy it, let people in your life enjoy it and die with nothing.”

Debt collectors may call members of your family after you die while attempting to collect on your debts — and they’re allowed to do this by the Federal Trade Commission.

Debt collectors cannot, however, mislead your family members into thinking they are personally liable for your debts after death.

And, the FTC says debt collectors can only call your spouse or the executor of your estate when trying to collect. They can call other relatives, but only to help locate a spouse or the estate executor.

Sarah Kuta is a contributor to The SS.