What to do when a Barclays US account holder dies

Call the servicing number printed on the back of the card, or call Barclays customer service at 888-232-0780 if the card is not available; support is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Follow up in writing with a certified copy of the death certificate and the account number, mailed to Barclays, Card Services, P.O. Box 8801, Wilmington, DE 19899-8801. Barclays does not publish a separate deceased-cardholder claim form, so a written notice you prepare is what it accepts.

The balance is paid by the estate, not by family members personally, unless someone was a joint account owner or co-signed the account. The executor or administrator pays valid creditor claims from estate assets in the order state law sets. If the estate does not have enough assets to pay all debts, an unsecured credit-card balance is generally not collectible from heirs. Do not pay the balance from personal funds before consulting the estate's process.

An authorized user can use a Barclays account (a primary cardmember can add up to 5 authorized users) but is not the account owner and is not contractually responsible for the balance. When the primary cardmember dies, the authorized user should stop using the card, because the account belongs to the deceased cardmember's estate. The authorized user is not personally liable for the debt.

No. A credit card is a debt, not an asset, so there is no beneficiary designation and no payable-on-death, transfer-on-death, or trust option on the account. When the cardholder dies, the outstanding balance becomes part of the estate and is settled through probate.

Barclays asks for a certified copy of the death certificate and the credit-card account number to report the death. To establish authority over the estate, Barclays may also request Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (certified court-issued documents naming the executor or administrator), or a small estate affidavit where the estate qualifies under the state-statute dollar limit.

Mail written notice of the death, with a certified copy of the death certificate and the account number, to Barclays, Card Services, P.O. Box 8801, Wilmington, DE 19899-8801 — the same address Barclays lists for general written correspondence. Barclays Bank Delaware's physical address is 125 South West Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.

Call the servicing number on the back of the card, or Barclays customer service at 888-232-0780 when the card is not available; the line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. General inquiries can also reach 877-523-0478. Barclays does not staff a separate bereavement line, so ask the customer-service representative to note the account as belonging to a deceased cardmember and to tell you how to submit the death certificate and estate documents.