I called AMEX when he died to inform them that he had died and to see what they wanted to do about the balance. Legally, my father has no estate — everything except his primary checking account went directly to me and bypassed probate (bank accounts => payable on death to me; 401k => I was sole beneficiary; life insurance => I was sole beneficiary). Because there was no probate, there was never an estate, therefore there are no estate assets with which to pay AMEX. The only way an estate gets created is if I claim the funds (also a few thousand dollars…would be nice to have, but I don’t need it) in my dad’s checking account. Therefore, I have zero incentive to claim my dad’s money, because 100% of it would be immediately owed to AMEX, and I really don’t care whether AMEX ever gets paid back — both legally and practically speaking, it’s not my problem (not to mention I’m generally unsympathetic to credit card companies).