Beware: credit card debt doesn't disappear when you die

Liz Weston

Sat, Apr 12, 2025, 6:00 AM 4 min read

Dear Liz: I americium an 80-year-old pistillate successful mostly bully health. My lone household is my unmarried 54-year-old son. The lone indebtedness I person is recognition paper indebtedness of astir $30,000 astatine 0% interest. It’s successful my sanction alone. My location and car person been registered with "transfer connected death" designations. My son’s sanction is connected my humble checking account. When I die, is determination a ineligible concern wherever helium would beryllium required to wage the recognition paper debt? There volition beryllium nary probate.

Answer: Credit paper indebtedness doesn’t conscionable vanish erstwhile you die. The indebtedness would go the work of your estate. Transfer-on-death options debar probate, the tribunal process that different follows death, but creditors tin inactive spell aft the spot that’s been transferred.

Depending connected authorities law, creditors whitethorn person longer to marque their claims than if your property had gone done probate oregon if you had utilized a surviving trust, says Jennifer Sawday, an property readying lawyer successful Long Beach.

That’s among the reasons wherefore transfer-on-death designations whitethorn not beryllium the champion solution. Consider making an assignment with an property readying lawyer to sermon your concern and imaginable alternatives.

Also, your 0% involvement complaint is temporary. Once the existent teaser complaint ends, you’ll apt wage a overmuch higher involvement complaint and your monthly payments could jump. If you tin wage disconnected this debt, that’s astir apt the champion course. If you can’t, you whitethorn privation to sermon your concern with a bankruptcy attorney.

Dear Liz: I judge you provided atrocious accusation to the pistillate inquiring astir Social Security spousal benefits for her husband.

You suggested to her that since she was the higher income spouse, that she hold until property 70 to maximize the payment her hubby could receive. I utilized to deliberation that was the lawsuit arsenic well, and was readying my Social Security commencement day accordingly.

However, a fewer months agone I recovered retired that this is not true. The maximum spousal enactment is based connected the afloat status property of the spouse oregon deceased spouse, not the maximum magnitude received if the deceased spouse waits longer to instrumentality Social Security. This is existent for some spousal benefits erstwhile the higher wage earner is live and for subsister benefits. After uncovering this accusation out, I filed to commencement receiving immediately, since I’m astatine my afloat status age.

Answer: Many radical confuse the rules for spousal and subsister benefits, arsenic you’ve done. This is wherefore it tin beryllium truthful important to sermon your claiming strategy with an adept earlier you marque a determination that stunts the survivor’s aboriginal income.

Spousal benefits are disposable erstwhile the higher earner is inactive alive. Spousal benefits tin beryllium up to 50% of the higher earner’s payment astatine afloat status age. Spousal benefits don’t get bigger if the higher earner delays filing beyond his oregon her afloat status age, and they don’t shrink if the higher earner applies earlier afloat status age. (If the spouse applies earlier his oregon her ain status age, however, the spousal payment typically volition beryllium reduced due to the fact that of the aboriginal start.)