My wife had been the primary card holder and I also had use of the card. When she passed away I called and explained why the payment for the last statement was late (it was due within days of her passing and she handled ALL of the money matters!) - they said not to worry but to also send a copy of the death certificate.
No problem - paid the balance of the last statement and sent the copy of the certificate.
However, since the last billing period had passed and I had made another purchase prior to their notification, there was a NEW outstanding balance of something like $33.00.
A few days after the funeral I received a phone call asking to speak with the 'executor' of 'the estate' - wishing to have the 'balance' of the account sent to close out the billing.
I explained that I was the husband and whatever the 'balance' was would be covered when I received the next month's bill.
I was told that there were not going to be any more 'bills' - they needed the balance paid now.
Again, I said "send the statement, I will send the balance."
And again, I was told that there would be no 'statement' - they needed the balance paid NOW.
At this point I was QUITE angry and told them "SEND IT - I'LL PAY IT!" and hung up.
Mind you - this was within a week of my wife's passing.......
After a minute I picked up the phone and called the last number.
Imagine the shock when the answer came from a "COLLECTION AGENCY!"
After having an account with this store and using their card for over 10 years, with an average 'bill' of $1500 per month, paid in full each month - this store (I'm not going to name the store, but you could perhaps think of red circles like you might see at a shooting range) had turned my balance of $33 over to a collection agency! 
I would encourage anybody using credit cards to carefully re-read the original post - there's much to be learned there! 
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