She really has no assets that are in her name. She has about 3 CC's with a $1000 balance on 2 of them and a third CC with a balance of $7000 due to a recent balance transfer of $3500. The thing was that the balance transfer was done from a one of my friends CC's . It was originally her debt but he had done a balance transfer from her cards a few months ago because of the rate he was getting eas alot better. The balance transfer was done a few weeks ago. She passed away last week suddenly. Who is responsible for the debt.. There are really no assets in her name. He is just worried that they will go after him. Any help would be appreciated.
Sorry for the loss Was there a will? What state are you in? If there is no will, whom is taking charge of her final affairs? Have the credit card companies been contacted? When my Dad died, he had a lot of credit card debt. All but one accepted the death certificate, wrote off the debt and was never heard from again. Citi tried to file a claim with the court - about 1.5 years too late. They had to eat $20K. Of course they would have had to eat most of it anyway...
It is the deceased's responsibility; i.e., her estate. If it is insolvent, the creditors are simply out. If there is a will, they can protest probate but, again, so what if there's nothing to be had.
That's true. When my father-in-law died, AMEX tried to come after my husband because he was an AU, but not a joint holder. After a few calls and faxes (including the death certificate), AMEX decided that they needed to write off the debt and not darken our doorstep again.
If he transferred one of her balances to his cards, then he is going to be responsible for that balance. Was the transfer from her card, or to her card?
Sounds like it was from his card to her card. So now it's her debt. She is deceased with no estate. The debt should go away. If she had been sick for a while, the cc company might make a case that it was done knowing that she would die and leave the debt. Since she died suddenly I don't see how they could make a case for fraud. I don't think he should have to pay it, but I defer to those who know the law better than I do.
it was originally her debt but he transferred it to his account 6 months ago because he wanted to get he a better interest rate. One of the CC's she had offered a really good bal transfer rate a few weeks ago so he transferred it back. There is no estate. He just doesnt want to be held responsible for debt that really wasn't his. He was an AU on one of her cards but not the one in question ...the total Balance on the CC in question was about $6000 ..$3000 of which was the bal transfer...
when my pop died we informed his creditors, had to send official death certificate, they just went away.
If she balance transferred an amount to his account, he owes it now. Doesn't matter who accrued it or the fact that this person is now deceased. I'm having a hard time understanding what you're saying but, here it is as follows: 1) If he balance transferred an amount to her card, consider it exinguished. 2) Is she balance transferred something to his card, he's going to have to pay it.
Sounds like the deceased had transferred it to someone's card a while back, but then just before passing, the deceased had moved it back on to a credit card in which she was an account holder. Seriously, my dad had several thousand dollars in credit card, and medical debt outstanding, and no one, but Citi ultimately challenged - then they didn't even show up for the hearing. If it were me, and there was no will, and no one is filing to probate an estate for lack of assets - I would contact the cc in question and see what their policy is...just mention she had no assets and at this time there is no plan to probate the estate. Don't make a big deal about the balance transfer. In Texas at least, anyone can file to probate an estate, (including a creditor) but I can't imagine a credit card company going to that extreme for $6K. Its going to cost them that much in attorney's fees, just to find out there really aren't any assets.
That's the way I understand it now, too. So the debt is on the deceased's card. I agree with jlynn. Just notify the creditor, don't mention the BT (could be you don't even know that it's a BT) and see what they require. Quite possibly a copy of the death certificate will just make it all go away.
If the debt is back on the Mother's credit card, then your friend has no responsibility for repayment. But, he should check the complete estate, if he is the executor then he needs to identify all assets his mother may have. This includes any life insurance, Social Security benefits, savings, property, etc. If there are assets in the estate, then first income taxes must be paid (if owed), then debts. The key itemis who is handling the estate and probate issue here. Just make sure all items have been identified. All debtors need to be notified of the death, and sent a copy of the death certificate as evidence.
Yes, at least notice the creditors. Also, if the person in question is the Executor or Trustee (contingent on will or trust) they will have certain duties to marshal and so forth. Don't ignore it but, I think you're fine.
I agree. There will need to be contact to inform the creditor of the death and allow them to make a claim against the estate. If there is nothing in the estate, there is nothing to distribute. If there are some assets, they will be divided among the creditors. Each state will have laws about the order of precedence.
