Does the FDCPA provide for contacting deceased debtor's relatives?
Does the FDCPA provide for contacting deceased debtor's relatives
?
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal statute established to protect debtors from debt collection harassment. This Act is enforced by the FTC and private attorneys. The act protects debtors form third party debt collectors who may harass them in the event of your near one's death.
The FDCPA does not provide for the dead person's near ones to be dragged into the payment of a debt unless they co-signed or otherwise guaranteed a loan, credit card. If not they are generally not responsible for a deceased family member's debt. According to the FTC, a surviving relative usually has no legal obligation to pay the debts of a dead family member. In fact, the rights of surviving relatives are covered by the FDCPA, which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from them.
As a relative of the deceased debtor you are not obligated to repay debts owed by your relative. Unless a relative like spouse or children co signed, the debt is the deceased's and is not required to be collected from the surviving members. If you are contacted by a debt collector, tell them that the person they are trying to reach is dead. If you know the contact information of the deceased's personal representative (the individual in charge of administering or executing the estate) then you may provide this to the debt collectors. If a debt collector persists in contacting you, send them a certified, return-receipt cease and desist letter advising the collector to stop all contact.
It is usual to pay off any debts through proceeds of the deceased's estate through a probate process. The probate process involves not only settling any debt, but also transferring any assets to beneficiaries named in the will as well. However, before any beneficiary can collect from the estate, all debt must be paid first. Probate courts handle the probate process, which includes notifying creditors that the borrower has died and taking inventory of his property.
Children who have lost both the parents do not have to pay for the deceased's debt. But if children or spouse or any other relative have co signed with the debtor, they will be held responsible for repaying of the debt. If debt collectors harass the deceased's family of other relatives for the payment, it would be best to contact an FDCPA attorney and stop harassment.
Under certain circumstances, the spouse of the deceased might inherit the debt (for example in community states like Nevada, Alaska etc), but this is not always the case. Credit card companies and other debt collecting agencies have the right to collect outstanding debt from the estate of the deceased. Federal laws protect all surviving family members from harassing debt collectors.
http://www.articlesbase.com/bankruptcy-articles/does-the-fdcpa-provide-for-contacting-deceased-debtors-relatives-3687035.html
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