What to do when a Continental Finance account holder dies

The balance is a debt that does not disappear on death; it becomes an obligation of the estate. Notify Continental Finance Cardholder Services at 1-866-449-4514 or by mail at P.O. Box 3220, Buffalo, NY 14240-3220, with the account number, and provide a copy of the death certificate and proof of your authority over the estate. The balance is then settled from estate assets through the probate creditor-claim process. If the account carried the optional Continental Credit Protection add-on, that program may cancel the balance up to the lesser of the date-of-death balance or $5,000.

Call Continental Finance Cardholder Services at 1-866-449-4514. Automated account information is available 24/7; live specialists are available Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. and Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. You can also mail a written notice of death, with a copy of the death certificate and proof of your authority over the estate, to Cardholder Services, P.O. Box 3220, Buffalo, NY 14240-3220. Include the credit-card account number and the program brand (Surge, Reflex, Verve, FIT, Cerulean, etc.).

No. A credit card is a debt, not an asset, so there is no payable-on-death, transfer-on-death, or beneficiary designation, and the account cannot be funded to a trust. When the primary cardholder dies, the outstanding balance becomes part of the estate and is paid from estate assets through the probate creditor-claim process.

Not automatically. The balance is an unsecured debt of the estate, presented as a claim to be paid from estate assets in the order set by state probate law. If the estate lacks enough assets to pay all valid claims, an unsecured credit-card balance may go partly or fully unpaid, but that is determined through the estate process. One exception: if the account was enrolled in the optional Continental Credit Protection program, that program cancels the balance in the event of death, up to the lesser of the outstanding balance on the date of death or $5,000.

Continental Credit Protection is an optional debt-cancellation program offered as an add-on to a Continental Finance credit-card account. In the event of the primary cardholder's death it cancels the account balance up to the lesser of the outstanding balance on the date of death or $5,000. To claim, submit a Benefit Activation Form and a copy of the death certificate within 120 days of death, through www.CPCustomerCare.com, by phone at 866-665-7967, by email at CPClaims@CPCustomerCare.com, or by mail to Credit Protection Program, PO Box 8099, Newark, DE 19714-8099. Not every cardholder is enrolled, so confirm enrollment before assuming coverage.

An authorized user is not the account holder and is not a co-borrower, so an authorized user is generally not personally liable for the balance. The debt belongs to the primary cardholder's estate. After the primary cardholder's death, notify Continental Finance so the account is closed and card use stops. An authorized user should not continue to use the card once the primary cardholder has died.

Continental Finance is a marketer and servicer of credit cards, not a bank. The cards are issued by partner sponsor banks: Celtic Bank issues Surge and Reflex; The Bank of Missouri issues FIT, Verve, and Revel; Services Credit Union issues Matrix and Cerulean. Continental Finance handles customer service, account management, payments, and credit reporting. When settling an estate, notify Continental Finance Cardholder Services at 1-866-449-4514; the issuing bank is named on the card and statement.