My father passed away in December. We have come to realize he had 3 credit cards with balances totaling about $20,000. We live in Louisiana, which is a community property state. My dad did not have a will and as far as any estate, would be the townhouse he lived in with my mother. Is my mom responsible for this credit card debt? Her name is not on any of the cards. The townhouse she lives in is in her name only. If she is responsible for the debt would it be a good idea to bring these debts to a type of credit card counselor to see if they could consolidate and possibly reduce rates? Please help!
Thanks!
wendy freeman

The way this works, is when a person dies, the proceeds of their estate are used to pay off any outstanding debt. If there is not enough to cover that debt that's it.

If the townhouse went to your mom as a joint tenant then it passed outside the estate. So just have her return any bills unopend marked deceased.