My mother passed away in April 2007. Apparently, she had a Citibank card. She was disabled from a stroke which left her paralyzed, etc. I really don't know how she would have charged on this card or what it was needed for. I am not certain if this was someone else using the card etc. They called on the account a couple of months before her sudden death. We explained to them that she knew nothing of the current debt and that her Citibank balance was paid off a while prior. They said yes, but this was a new account, etc. After her passing, they called yet again. I told them she had passed away. I had not heard another thing until this morning. A call was on my caller id. When I called back it was CitiCards and they said it was for my Mom's account. But, that it was no longer with them. They gave me a # to their (legal department). I have not called them or talked to anyone about this. The thing is that a while back, my Dad's credit report showed this as a charge off. He was a user on this card. My Mom was primary and he never signed the application, etc. I guess since he was her husband, he was on the card. But, he never signed the application or anything. I went back today to check his credit report to see if it was an AU or Joint. I cannot find any documentation of this debt at all. His Experian score was 715. I am very confused as to what to do from here. As long as it is not showing on his report, does this mean he is not responsible? Please help!!!
Send them a copy of the death cert.and ask them to close the account.If he was an au user and it shows on his report have him dispute as i was never author.to use this account.On this they usually wait until he would try to buy something then put it on his report like a house or car.there sneaky bastards.
No, the absence of a debt from a credit report does not mean he is not responsible. Contact Citi and ask for their death department (seriously, that is what they called it a few years ago). You will need to fax over her death certificate. Dependent on the amount, they may simply write it off. Dependent on the state your father lives in, he *could* be liable under community property statutes. My Dad owed 20K on his, we had to file for probate anyway (no will), and Citi came dragging in long past the claim period. Our attorney told them to pound sand.
I just read on the internet that KY is not a community property state. It reads that one spouse is not liable for the other one's debt in divorce or death. Is this so?
Contact the website for ky and it should be in the consumer laws.You can't always trust the internet content there's so much disinformation outthere
Okay. I made forsure. Kentucky is a "Common Law" state, not a "Community Property" state. There is not one CC receipt of any kind that my Dad would have signed for because he knew nothing of this card or the debt. Since my Mother is no longer alive, we cannot ask her. But, as I said earlier in a post. She was homebound from a stroke. She could not even write her name, drive a car, walk, etc. We did have people in and out of the house working, taking care of her. I really don't know if the card was used by someone else or how this debt was acquired. I just don't have answers. I know for sure that my Dad should not be stuck with paying a debt he never authorized. He knows 100% for sure that he never signed a CC request or authorization...
I would call the police and file a fraud report and get a case number.When you have health care workers in and out not all are honest.Get the report and the death cert. and submit it to the cc company,But you need a police report with a case number they might not check on who did it.But you will have the case number.
Okay... So here is the deal with that. We're not sure what happened with the debt. As I said, she passed away so we cannot ask her. However, I don't want to file a police report if fraud was not committed here. I feel like if I file a police report I need to know exactly what happened. She had that insurance you buy on the card (when she first opened it) in the event you pass away or get sick. But, when they called (back before she passed away) they said she didn't have it. It's a horrible mess. I don't know what to do from this point. The fact is, she is gone. We cannot ask or verify this with her. So, all I am concerned about now is my Father. Since he never signed anything and we are a common law state, I am confused. I just don't want him to have to pay this because he didn't charge to it. He absolutely does not have any available funds to pay this debt. With that said, I don't want to have to be stuck with it so that it don't ruin him if unpaid.
I know how you feel had same problem.So the question i have was there charges after the stroke if your dad didn't make them then someone did not only do you need to protect you dad but also your mom.If she didn't make them then someone did.It's not getting anyone in trouble it's protecting your family.I know this is hard for you,we went through the same thing.good luck on this and keep us informed on this.
We live in a small town and I know when we go into all this, it's going to be talk, talk, talk. The news reporters grab everything and run with it. You can bet that when something goes through the police dept the town newspaper will hear about it. Yes, it had to be after she had her stroke. She was homebound for 10 years. We don't even have CC statements or anything. And, when I called this morning the lady at CitiCards said she could not even access the account. She then referred me to the "legal department". As I stated before, I did not call them. Since you faced the same problem, please tell me what steps you took and what the end result was.
Also, my Mom did not have a will or anything like that. So, there was no need for a probate, we were told.
Was the death notice placed in the paper.If there's no estate their would be no probate depending on state law.We went ahead and played it out however because of the number of people involved they didn't really pursue hard.Small town cops.Just gave us a case number.
If the legal department or a collection agency ever contacts you - send them a death certificate and tell them to reduce all communications to writing. You need to understand that there is an expense for collecting, and Citi, being a somewhat "reputable" company is not going to spend alot of time or man hours trying to collect from the family of the deceased. You stated under KY law your father is not liable as a spouse. He is not liable as an AU. I'm sure the attorneys at Citi know the same thing. I really think you are over-thinking and stressing out over this unnecessarily. How much debt are we talking about?
When someone dies (and am sorry about the loss of your Mother) before any funds can be dispersed the will has to go thru probate and ALL debts need to be paid before probate is completed. Did your MOther not have a will? No assets? If she did then you will find things are going to be attached unless you can prove fraud. If she had nothing then just send back any correspondence with a DECEASED WRITTEN ACROSS THE FRONT and they just may leave you alone. This happened in two cases that I know of. both women had a husband that died and there was no will and there as not an money so we wrote DECEASED they had been bothered for several months and all disappeared. Woofer
Do as jlynn says. Contact their "death department." Send them a copy of the death certificate and they should go away. And yes, Greg, they are one of the most reputable. I'm sure that with proper documentation they will stop attempting to collect. But they need the proper documentation.
