I read that a surviving spouse in New York is only responsible for paying his deceased wife's credit card bills if the charges were for necessaries. So, if the wife charged liquor and cigarette purchases totalling thousands of dollars on credit cards in her name only, must the husband pay the charges after she dies? If he is not responsible, would the credit card companies be likely to go after her estate for the money (let's assume that she had a joint account with her husband and joint ownership of their home)? How does that work? Once she dies, the money in the joint account and the house become his, so what can the credit card companies do to collect the bills? What if she had a will and left jewelry and other things to her children? Would the kids be able to get it? Could it be given to them right away or would the credit card bills have to be paid first? Thanks, in advance, for your advice