Do I Have To Pay My Mother's Bills?

[DiabloSammich]

My mom passed away in October from cancer. I was the main beneficiary. I use that term loosely, as she had nothing. She rented her house, drove a car bought by my dad, had no money in her checking and about $300 in her savings, which we used for the services. No insurance, no 401k, no savings bonds....get the picture?

She also owed a lot of people a lot of money, mostly medical bills. My brother still lives at the house she rented, and the collection agencies are hot and heavy.

Now, somehow, they have found me. The bills are still in her name, but they are coming to my address. What the fuck? I have enough money problems of my own, can these people really come after me? If I tell these people she's passed, will that stop the collections, or will they completely focus on me?

[Misteriosa]

i dont think anyone is responsible for any of the bills unless there is a cosigner... write them a letter telling them what happened and not to contact you about it any more

[angrymissy]

They can't do shit. There is no money or property in the estate and you are not liable. What these assholes do is run reports that show relatives and #'s and where they live, and then call them up trying to think they're liable to pay. Tell them she is dead, and you're willing to send a copy of the death certificate, and to cease and desist contact.

[Misteriosa]

and send everything thru certified mail and have copies of everything, of course

[JPMNICK]

They can't do shit. There is no money or property in the estate and you are not liable. What these assholes do is run reports that show relatives and #'s and where they live, and then call them up trying to think they're liable to pay. Tell them she is dead, and you're willing to send a copy of the death certificate, and to cease and desist contact.

missy is right, there is nothing they can do, the estate is essentially broke, so they can not force you to pay any of her bills.

[Lawson]

A similar thing happened with my father-in-law. We forwarded a death certificate and letter to the collectors, and after a while the bills and calls stopped coming. In some cases it took a while and some collectors were pretty aggressive, but eventually it stopped. But, I'm not a lawyer, I only play one on TV...

[~Katja~]

personally I would try to get some sort of legal advice on this (perhaps a legal forum?)
I know this is not Germany, but there the children actually become liable for their parents debts, especially if they were in the will and the beneficiaries of the inheritance. They are able to decline the inheritance though, which leaves them with no responsibility for debts.

Credit and credit history in the US is much different. I would think that them haunting you down may actually be illegal, but again... this is just an opinion and not solid legal knowledge.

[DiabloSammich]

Thanks for the info, guys, and Katja this is why I put it on here, there seems to be quite a few people with a knowledge of the legal system. And there's quite a few people who will say "Tell the collection agency to go fuck themselves." And I like that mix.

[drjoek]

Tell the collection agency to go fuck themselves

[Tall_James]

Tell the lawyers to go fuck themselves.

[drjoek]

Go fuck yourself








Wait thats just too far with the joke:tongue:

[DiabloSammich]

Go fuck yourself








Wait thats just too far with the joke:tongue:


Never too far.


See what I mean, Katja? This place is aces, I tell you. ACES!

[JPMNICK]

Some debts could come after the estate for money, but since there was nothing to go after, you are not responsible for it.

[DolaMight]

They can't do shit. There is no money or property in the estate and you are not liable. What these assholes do is run reports that show relatives and #'s and where they live, and then call them up trying to think they're liable to pay. Tell them she is dead, and you're willing to send a copy of the death certificate, and to cease and desist contact.

Although it's been stated already, Missy is right on here. Similar situation with my dad. It really caught me off guard. They'll call and call and try and convince you you're liable, you're not. It's a gimmick all the collection agencies run, they figure if they can get a dollar back it's better than nothing. They take advantage of the fact people are vulnerable at that time and most just don't know.

[midwestjeff]

Ooops. That's Life.


RIP MommaSammich.

[mikeyboy]

Tell the lawyers to go fuck themselves.

:glurps:

[Friday]

Don't Pay, schmoopie.

When mama died, I paid a few small bills, but the big credit cards and hospital bills I left. I was certainly in no position to pay them.

I notified them of her death and faxed death certificates to some. That's it.

The only way they can get you for them is if any were also in your name... so make sure your name is not on anything and be absolutely certain that any assets or bank accounts she may have had are CLOSED and re-submit everything in your name only.

The worst thing that will happen is your Mom will have bad credit... and well, that doesn't really matter now.

Good Luck!

[Freitag]

Thanks for the info, guys, and Katja this is why I put it on here, there seems to be quite a few people with a knowledge of the legal system. And there's quite a few people who will say "Tell the collection agency to go fuck themselves." And I like that mix.

Diablo, as a warning: Some of these agencies may use fear tactics of judgments being entered against you and wanting you to settle - DON'T BUY INTO IT. If they push, ask for paperwork. If they say they can't produce, tell them to go away.

They may even threaten to arrest you - THEY CANNOT DO THIS. Don't buy into the fear, you don't owe GARBAGE.

And yes, Eff the lawyers.

[~Katja~]

Diablo, as a warning: Some of these agencies may use fear tactics of judgments being entered against you and wanting you to settle - DON'T BUY INTO IT. If they push, ask for paperwork. If they say they can't produce, tell them to go away.

They may even threaten to arrest you - THEY CANNOT DO THIS. Don't buy into the fear, you don't owe GARBAGE.

And yes, Eff the lawyers.



no kidding... I had my ex husband's debt collectors contact me on myspace of all places. Somehow they looked up the property records at his last known address and then contacted me.
I told them to F' off unless they want to share the money they will get from him IF they find him... they basically thought they could threaten me cause I own property.

[celery]

Good lord, I'm not even involved in the situation and this thread pissed me off. I'm convinced that just about everyone involved in the credit/debt industry is a scumbag.

[Thebazile78]

Good lord, I'm not even involved in the situation and this thread pissed me off. I'm convinced that just about everyone involved in the credit/debt industry is a scumbag.

Not to derail, but it seems to be a job requirement.

I hate collections agencies with a passion and have for the past 14 years.

Fucking vultures.

[KnoxHarrington]

We're going through a similiar thing with my mother's estate. She'd had Alzheimer's for several years, so there was really nothing of value in the estate, though there will be just enough life insurance money to pay for the funeral. And that's what we're doing: telling anyone who calls asking for money from her "She's dead, there's nothing in the estate, die in a fire."

Like they said above, there are scumbag collection agencies who'll buy debts off people for a tiny fraction of what they're worth, and try to extort people into paying them off with bullshit threats.

If you intentionally lie to collect a debt, I think you should go to fucking jail. It's extortion.

[LordJezo]

The estate is liable for her debts, you have nothing at all to do with them.

The estate means whatever she owns. So if she has a house or other assets they must first be used to pay for what she owes before you (or who ever was in the will) gets them. But you said she had none of this, so besides the $300 that she had in checking, which will have to go to someone I suppose, they are sol.

Maybe someone already said this, but I was lazy and didn't read the whole thread.

Do what someone else said, send a registered copy of her death certificate to them and that should stop them. If not just say something about the Fair Debt and Collections act and that if they dont stop harassing you then you will have to press charges or sue.

[ScottFromGA]

My mom passed away in October from cancer. I was the main beneficiary. I use that term loosely, as she had nothing. She rented her house, drove a car bought by my dad, had no money in her checking and about $300 in her savings, which we used for the services. No insurance, no 401k, no savings bonds....get the picture?

She also owed a lot of people a lot of money, mostly medical bills. My brother still lives at the house she rented, and the collection agencies are hot and heavy.

Now, somehow, they have found me. The bills are still in her name, but they are coming to my address. What the fuck? I have enough money problems of my own, can these people really come after me? If I tell these people she's passed, will that stop the collections, or will they completely focus on me?

when my mother passed away with cancer, we got the typical bill here and there, so we just sent them the Death Certificate and that was it. Usually we hear something back from them, but I became her Executor in late 2006. Now that its all in my name, they cannot take what is not her's anymore. I've had everything taken out of her name and put into mine......something you may think about.


but other than that, tell them to piss off. She's passed away and no one is able to pay for them...co-signer or not. If you was her Power of Attorney, you have no ties to her property as when she dies, that power you once had dies with her.

sending them the Death Certificate should be efficient enough to take care of her stuff.

[Lady Resin]

And when you get death certifcates get as many as you think you may need. My mom found out the hard way after my dad passed away. Even get a few extra just in case. I had to do that when my mom passed away. Trust me it's worth the price than being jerked around by those assholes.

[SKANE]

I'm sorry for your loss. Sad that this is something you or anyone would have to deal with. Tell them to go fuck themselves. You owe them nothing other than that.

[nukinfuts]

You can file a claim with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the collection agencies if they try to convince you that these debts are now yours which they are not, only if you cosigned. Also they are very sneaky there have been instances where some of the sleezier ones will pull your credit report and possibly try to tie the debt to you. Sad but true..they are a bunch of fuckers. Not to scare you but you need to check your credit report a couple times over the next year to make sure. The link for the FTC complaints is below. I have used this before with some dipshit collection agency and it worked...the collection agency had to take it off my credit report because there was no proof the debt was mine.

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

[Legit Bill]

Send certified letters stating in a nice and formal way that you are acting on behalf of your mothers will (beneficiary) and that you simply inherited monetary value on anything she actually owned (if any). Tell them to no longer contact you and that if there is any positive gain on your mother's belongings that you will contact them.

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

My dad 20 years ago. A few months before he died he put his house in my sister's and my name so it would be safe and ours in the clear. He had life insurance on his mortgage so when he died the house was ours and the creditors could do nothing.

We were harrassed by collection agencies about my dad's credit card debt. They couldn't do shit because he was the only one whose name was on the credit cards. The house wasn't in his name and there were no other assets in the "estate."

Sorry for your loss. I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Creditors can't come after YOU; they'd have to deal with the estate. Seek legal advice to be sure.