My beloved mother passed away in December 2006. She had $14,000 and $1,500 balances on two credit cards. They were paid on time up to her death. When the January 2007 statements came in I sent them a copy of her death certificate and a note stating that there would be no probate. Of course, that doesn't stop debt collectors calling for the "representative" of my mother's estate, which would be me. I've already sent early last year more copies of my mother's death certificate to a Minnesota law firm who was the first to try to collect by sending "intimidating" letters with all their lawyers names on it and stuff and they eventually quit after 9 months. Various others tried calling but I've ignored them if I didn't recognize the number and deleted their messages. The debt isn't mine and I knew that some debt collectors would try to attach this debt to me by merely trying to get me to state my name on the phone. I know they do not have a legal ground to stand on (otherwise I would have already gotten some type of legal document within this past year and a half.) About 10 months before my mother's death, she and my father (separated and divorced) sold their house. My mother's share of the proceeds were used for her nursing care at my apartment. So at the time of her death, her bank account was less than $2,000 which was used to pay for some of the funeral expenses. She had no other property or cars or anything. So that is why I didn't see the need for probate...there wasn't anything to probate for! So I'm asking for opinions on whether debt collectors have any legal ground to seek payment from ME for my mother's debt with her assets virtually none after funeral expenses? If there is no property, real estate or otherwise, that is in her name and with any money, as little as it was, going to funeral expenses, should I still do the probate process? It would seem pointless to me but I'll listen to others. Thanks.
Since you are the daughter, it is generally the case that you cannot be held liable for the debt, as you did not incur the debt. This often does not stop some collection agenices from "attempting" to collect the debt from a family member. Continue your process of sending a copy of the Death Certificate when contacted in writing by these agencies. Also add in your letter the request to have any and all future communications in writing, state that it is inconvenient to take calls at any time or number. In short, this may be a test of patience and will, but you will prevail.
maybe add Maybe add something to the affect that their continuous barage is causing you emotional turmoil that may result in your needing to contact a lawyer in order to afford counseling at their expense.
Thank you, Bizwiz and Wenker. I certainly would take Bizwiz's suggestion to have them to write instead of calling me. Thanks also for confirming that I'm not liable for the debt. Wenker, though I'm not really "suffering" from emotional turmoil, nonetheless it doesn't hurt to exaggerate to get the point across to say "bug off" to them in so many words. : )
The only way an "heir" could be liable for a decedent's debt would be a situation where the heir took money or property from the decedent's estate (either before or after the decedent's death) for the purpose of enriching herself, and in so doing the creditor was left out in the cold. In other words, the decedent made a fraudulent transfer while alive, or the heir usurped the estate (without using the probate system) after death. That does not look like the situation we have here, but it's possible that using those funds to pay funeral expenses created an issue. Nevertheless, creditors know that chasing a dead person's debt to the ends of the earth is seldom an availing strategy, so what they're doing is harassing and hoping that someone either can't take the heat or has a guilty conscience, because they have little to no intention of actually going to court and doing anything. These debts will fall in to the hands of a junk debt buyer (if they haven't already) and the JDB will assign and reassign it to collection agencies, each of whom will start over on the dunning and calling with high hopes. Since the money isn't there, they will be disappointed. Meanwhile, the heir or heirs will face this sort of hassle for a while, possibly years. Sharply worded cease and desist letters may be availing in some cases, in others you would basically have to sue on violations to get them off your back.
No, no, no! You poor thing, this situation has you so upset you don't even realize what you are saying! You are suffering horribly. You've had to deal with the stress of your mother's passing, and the funeral planning, and getting all of her affairs in order, and on top of all that these nasty creditors are ATTACKING you. They call and they write and the stress of dealing with them is nearly killing you. Think really hard, and you'll realize that this is true. Especially should you ever need to face these creditors in court.
I think facing these creditors in court is the last thing the poster has to worry about. Based upon the information given, no judge would probably even hear this case.
I remember many years ago before I knew much about debt collectors, my Aunt who had used up all her money fighting her cancer,well she had nothing left, and she was in the hospital, and I was at her apartment,and there would be all these dunning letters from a JDB on a visa card that she was not paying, and then the phone would rang when I finally called them and told them about my Aunt, and without missing a beat, they said to me that they didn't care how sick she was they were going to get their money and they were going to sue her.I told them she could never leave the hospital, and they said they would make her leave! AMAZING HUH??? Next few days I was cleaning out her things and a sheriff came by with a summons for my Aunt. I told the sheriff that my Aunt was in the hospital and probably would not make the week, and he looked at me at me and said... "These debt collectors are not going to get me to give this to your Aunt" My Aunt died soon after. I never heard anything from them again. Woofer
Oh, I don't mean the OP would have to face these creditors in court because they filed suit. I mean if the OP has to fact these creditors in court when he/she files suit against THEM for their violations of the FDCPA.
