The full explanation
Generally, being an authorized user does not obligate you to pay the card's debt, even if the account holder dies. Card issuers usually report authorized users' status to the credit bureaus, so the account may appear on your credit report. The account holder can ask the issuer to remove you from the account.
An example
To help her daughter get started, Alicia adds her as an authorized user on her card. The daughter can use it, but paying the debt is still Alicia's responsibility.
You will see it in…
- Your credit report, where the account shows as an authorized-user account
- The call to the issuer's customer service to add or remove a user
- Collection letters asking you to pay a relative's card
