Q: Is illegal for an authorized credit card user to continue to use the credit card after the Primary Account holder dies?
I am looking specifically for State or Federal statute reference. Or some other Official code.
A: It may depend on how the card account is set up, whether there is a separate card issued in the name of the authorized user, and what the account agreement says. Ordinarily, no, a mere authorized user would not be able to continue charging because immediately upon death of the account holder, the account is supposed to terminate; however, the credit card company may not know of the account holder's death and so is unaware of the issue. On the other hand, if the authorized user is aware of the account holder's death, then there is a possibility that a criminal charge of theft could be pursued, but whether the authorized user appreciated that what they were doing was illegal or against the card account terms could be the basis of a defense to the charge, because they lacked the necessary "men rea" --criminal intent-- to commit the crime of theft. They may be sued civilly for payment of the charges, however.
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