My husband died 5 years ago, but I’m still getting his hospital bills — I’m 67 and can barely afford to retire. Do I really have to pay his debt?

There had been the funeral bills, insurance paperwork, bank accounts, and a long list of things that suddenly became her responsibility.

Then, years later, another envelope arrived. Inside was a $5,300 hospital bill — for care Bill received before he died.

Janice, 67, is already worried about whether she can afford to retire. Her savings need to last, and her monthly income doesn’t leave much room for a $5,300 surprise — especially one tied to a debt she thought had been dealt with years ago.

Her first instinct might be to pay it just to make the problem disappear. But there’s a bigger question she should answer first: does she actually owe it?

A $5,300 bill arrives years after death

Janice’s situation may sound extreme, but medical debt can follow people around for years.

A 2022 KFF survey found that 22% of Americans ages 65 and older had some form of debt resulting from medical or dental bills — including bills for someone else. And among older adults with healthcare debt, 29% said a collection agency had contacted their household about bills.

So a widow receiving a medical bill isn’t necessarily unusual. What matters is whose debt it is.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says surviving spouses are generally not responsible for a deceased spouse’s debt. If the debt needs to be paid, it generally comes out of the deceased person’s estate — the money and property they left behind. If the estate can’t cover it, the debt generally goes unpaid.

That distinction could be worth thousands of dollars to someone like Janice. Say she has $100,000 saved for retirement. Paying Bill’s $5,300 hospital debt herself would immediately wipe out 5.3% of her savings.

That’s money that could otherwise help cover groceries, property taxes, prescriptions, utilities, or one of the many other expenses that don’t stop just because you’ve retired. She may need every dollar of that savings to make retirement work.

The CFPB has specifically warned about debt collectors trying to collect deceased spouses’ medical bills from surviving spouses who may not actually be legally responsible for them. In some cases, collectors may be pursuing a bill without taking into account the specific state laws that determine whether the survivor actually owes it.

The age of the bill could also work in Janice’s favor. Depending on her state’s laws, the creditor may have waited too long to legally collect the debt. But she shouldn’t test that by making a payment or agreeing to a payment plan.

“If it’s been years, the debt may be beyond the statute of limitations for collection. However, making a payment or agreeing to pay could restart the clock, making the debt collectible again,” Anna Anderson, a senior attorney with the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), told Moneywise.

That doesn’t mean Janice should throw the bill away. However, it does mean she shouldn’t automatically write the check, either.

When does a spouse have to pay a late partner’s medical debt?

There are several situations where a surviving spouse could be responsible for a deceased spouse’s debt.

For starters, the debt may have been shared. If Janice co-signed an obligation, for example, she could still be responsible. The same can apply when someone is a joint account holder on a credit card, although being merely an authorized user is different.

State law can also matter. The CFPB says spouses in community-property states can share responsibility for certain debts incurred during a marriage. Those states include Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, with Alaska having a community-property option under certain circumstances.

Some states also have so-called “necessaries” laws that can make a spouse responsible for certain essential expenses, including healthcare. That’s why there isn’t a simple nationwide answer to Janice’s question.

Her state, the circumstances surrounding Bill’s treatment, and how the bill was originally incurred can all matter.

As Anderson, who is the author of the guide Surviving Debt, told Moneywise, “There are only certain circumstances where a surviving spouse could be liable for a deceased spouse’s medical bills, so don’t assume you’re automatically on the hook for these bills.”

She suggests asking four key questions: Was the medical charge put on a jointly held credit card? Did the surviving spouse personally guarantee the debt? Does the couple live in a community-property state where creditors can pursue spouses for certain debts? Or does the state have a “necessaries” law that can make a spouse liable for certain medical bills?

“If the answer to any of these questions is yes, the surviving spouse may be liable in some specific cases. But liability isn’t automatic, and the surviving spouse may still have defenses against the debt,” she explained.

There’s another important distinction, too: being the executor or personal representative of Bill’s estate doesn’t automatically mean Janice has to pay his debts out of her own pocket. Her role may mean dealing with creditors and using estate assets to settle legitimate debts, but that isn’t the same thing as becoming personally responsible for everything Bill owed.

If an estate or probate case was opened after Bill died, the creditor or debt collector may also have been required to make a claim for the medical bill during that process, depending on the applicable state and probate rules.

What to do about debt lingering after death

So what should Janice do when that $5,300 bill lands in her mailbox?