My dad died and his last credit card bill went unpaid. I was an authorized user and my credit score took a hit

When there’s a death in the family, it’s natural for certain things to fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, this can become a problem if you forget to pay off a credit card — especially if you also have a legal interest in that card.

The good news is, a late payment shouldn’t necessarily damage your credit if the account wasn’t yours. A lot depends on your status. If you were an authorized user, you should be able to get the late payment off your credit report without much trouble. But if it was a joint account or you were a co-signer, you may have to jump through a few more hoops.

Here’s what you need to know about fixing damage to your credit that results from a missed payment on a deceased parent’s account.

Figuring out your status on a credit account is the most important step to take when someone with a shared account dies. That’s because there’s a big difference between being an authorized user and being a co-owner or co-signer.

If you’re a co-owner or co-signer, you have a legal responsibility to the credit card company. If you’re an authorized user, you have the right to use the card but no actual obligation to pay.

While the card’s payment record may show up on your credit record if you’re an authorized user, you should be able to get yourself removed from the account. Upon death, a person’s estate is typically responsible for debt. Beware, you’ll need to stop using the card once they die.

Since you don’t have any legal responsibility for making payments as an authorized user, the credit card company can make a claim against the estate to get paid — but can take no action against you. If there’s money in the estate, they’ll probably get their funds. If not, then the debt would likely be written off. Laws may vary by state.

Read more: These 5 magic money moves will boost you up America’s net worth ladder in 2024 — and you can complete each step within minutes.

If you co-owned the account or co-signed for the debt, things are a little different. In this situation, you do have shared legal responsibility for paying the credit card bills.

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