I lost my dad to cancer and no final payment was made on his credit card, which I was an authorized user on. Now my credit score has taken a hit — can I reverse that?

Debt responsibility

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.

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If you co-owned or co-signed the account

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.

Now, this doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have to live with the black mark on your credit record that resulted from the late payment. Your best option may be to call or write a letter to the credit card company to explain what happened and to ask if they'd be willing to remove the late payment from your credit history. Card companies aren't obligated to honor your request, but may do so as a gesture of goodwill, especially if you explain that your parent died and if you've since become current on the account after the missed payment.

However, do keep in mind that as a co-owner or co-signer you maintain responsibility for the account and have to make sure the card gets paid on time and in full from here on out.

If you aren't sure if you're an authorized user or a co-owner or co-signer of the account, call the credit card company ASAP to find out. This will help point you in the direction of what to do next and how to fix the credit mess that resulted from your family's loss.