It is important that you keep current with your household bills. By their nature, creditors tend not to be sympathetic. You could ruin your credit rating if you fall behind in your payments. If you have the cash, you should pay all household expenses as well funeral, cemetery, and burial expenses within thirty days of being invoiced. Save evidence of your payment of all funeral related expenses as they are deductible for estate tax purposes.

Also, the fact that you paid your late spouse’s funeral bill will count in your favor in the event a dispute arises as to whom should be appointed as your late spouse’s personal representative.

Normally, you shouldn’t save routine household bills (unless you want to build an addition on your home to house them). However, you will need them after your spouse’s death to calculate your average monthly expenses. Also, look at your checkbook register for the prior twelve months to identify non-recurring expenses such as car repair, un-reimbursed medical, dental, prescription drug expenses, household services, and gifts. Make a list of each household expense and your average monthly payment.

Typical expenses include:

1. Mortgage payments.
2. Home equity loan payments.
3. Utilities.
4. Food and clothing.
5. Car payment.
6. Car maintenance and repairs.
7. Installment loans.
8. Credit card debt.
9. Medical expenses.
10. Taxes (federal, state, property).
11. Insurance premiums (homeowners, life, health, disability, auto, long term care.)
12. Miscellaneous expenses (entertainment, education, pets, gifts, charity, club memberships, professional fees, etc.)

Separate your bills, your spouse’s bills, and your joint bills. Pay your bills and your joint bills first, so that your own credit history is not adversely affected. Your spouse’s individual bills should be paid from the trust or estate checking accounts you opened, as discussed above.

Check your spouse’s individual credit card statements (ones where you are not on the account) to determine whether he had credit life insurance that will pay off his outstanding balance at death. If there is no insurance, contact each creditor directly to inform them of your spouse’s death. You may request an extension of time to pay or arrange for a negotiated settlement of the debt. Explain that your spouse’s estate is not sufficiently liquid to immediately pay the debt in full. Many credit card companies will accept an immediate reduced payment rather than wait months for payment of the full amount. You will need to provide the creditor with a copy of the death certificate. It is important to confirm any negotiated settlement in writing when sending your final payment.

If you and your late spouse were joint obligors on all of your credit cards, you should establish new credit in your own name. Developing your own credit history is important if you intend to borrow in the future. Don’t take your spouse’s name off joint credit cards right away; otherwise you will be bombarded with irritating calls from creditors preying on the recently widowed. Use your new line of credit and completely close out the joint credit cards and lines of credit when they are paid off.