This most often occurs when a husband and wife possess joint bank accounts or share credit cards. When one of them dies deceased status can appear on the surviving account holders credit report. In addition to the death notation, the file will no longer have a FICO score.

Should this occur, the consumer should request a copy of their TransUnion, Equifax and Experian credit files through the website AnnualCreditReport.com (if credit is denied because of something in the report, the consumer is also entitled to a free copy at any time). Carefully review each file and dispute any tradeline indicating deceased status.

A dispute can be lodged online, by phone, or through the mail, but online is generally the fastest and allows for  the process to be monitored.