<prompt> Human: My mother has a credit card with a remaining balance of just over 5,000. Shes 77 and has dementia, which is advancing quite rapidly. So it seems that her credit score is not really a concern for her anymore. What happens if we simply let it go into default? Its been suggested that I could let it go into defaultcollections and simply ignore it...or offer to resolve it by paying a relatively smaller amount after its gone into collections. Here are my concerns: The credit card is issued by the same bank where her checking account is held. Could the bank take money from her checking if she defaults on the card? My parents are still married and live in a community property state. Would my fathers creditfinances be placed in any risk if she defaults? Both parents are retired and live off of social security. Would their SS payments be at risk if my mother defaults on her credit card? The other option we have is to tap into their savings and pay it off. Not the ideal option...but Id rather have that debt out of the way, and we can repay the savings account over time without wasting money on interest rates from the credit card. But I wanted to explore the default option since someone told me she did the same with the bank being the same for CC and checking and had no issues. She took a credit hit as expected but no one came after her money. Any information is very much appreciated. Thanks.  <response>: If you owe someone money, its usually best to pay them. This case is no exception. The estate will just wind up owing it, with fees and interest. 