09/15/2026
Q. Does a person’s debt go away when they die?
A. No, when someone dies owing a debt, the debt does not go away.
Generally, the deceased person’s estate is responsible for paying any unpaid debts.
When a person dies, their assets pass to their estate. If there is no money or property left, then the debt generally will not be paid.
No one else is required to pay the debts of someone who died, unless it is a shared debt.
For instance:
👉🏾You were joint account owners
👉🏾You borrowed the money as a co-signer
👉🏾You are a surviving spouse and you live in a community property state where spouses share responsibility for certain marital debts
👉🏾Your state has necessaries statutes where parents and spouses could be responsible for certain necessary costs such as healthcare
If you were an authorized user on a credit card account belonging to the person who died, that does not make you responsible for paying their credit card debt.
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
