What happens to the balance of credit card in the event of death of primary cardholder?

All debts and assets of a deceased person are handled in accordance with the probate laws of the state where the deceased resided. Only the account holder is responsible for credit card debt, unless the person was married and lived in a community property state, in which case the surviving spouse is usually deemed responsible for such a debt. In some community property states such as Wisconsin the law varies as to the surviving spouse's responsibility.