My father died this past August after a long battle with diabetes, emphyzema, and Alzheimers. I thought he had enough life insurance to cover end of life contingencies, as he had specific insurance for his credit card and a plan from his employer.
Turns out the credit card was sold THREE times and BofA cannot find any record of the insurance, and the employer’s life insurance was for $9,000 and not for $45,000, as was thought.
So, Dad owed $17,000 on a VISA card. I went to BofA with his death certificate and told them I had Power of Attorney and would be handling closure of his estate.
Bank of America changed the name on the credit account to my name and I’ve been hounded by collectors since October. The lawyer handling the estate has not returned my phone calls, and I suspect that what BofA did was illegal.
I’m running out of money and have been trying, unsuccessfully for two years, to get a job.
Anybody have any suggestions?
I do not want to sound uncaring, but for the life of me, I do not understand why anyone does business with BofA
If there is a probate judge involved in the disperal of the assets then the creditor can petition the court for payment as an unsecured debt.
Secured debt, such as a car loan or mortgage is a bit different. If you inherited an asset that was used as security for a loan (car, house, boat) then you must continue to pay it off or risk re-possession.
Turns out the credit card was sold THREE times and BofA cannot find any record of the insurance, and the employer’s life insurance was for $9,000 and not for $45,000, as was thought.
So, Dad owed $17,000 on a VISA card. I went to BofA with his death certificate and told them I had Power of Attorney and would be handling closure of his estate.
Power of Attorney allows you to do what your father can do. Since the dead do not transact business, your power as his attorney-in-fact died with him. I am not a lawyer, but that’s what a lawyer told me (in Pennsylvania). I had reason to ask, since I also have a power of attorney and am named as executor in a will (and, thank God, the former rather than the latter is in force).
Bank of America changed the name on the credit account to my name and I’ve been hounded by collectors since October. The lawyer handling the estate has not returned my phone calls, and I suspect that what BofA did was illegal.
I'm not a lawyer but I've been in a similar situation. Here's what the facts are:
1. You're not "responsible" for your fathers bills unless you were a co-signer on the credit account or assumed responsibility for the bill.
2. BofA may not have done anything "illegal" but what they did was damn' sure unethical.
When you went to the bank and told them you had power of attorney and that you'd be handling the closure of your father's estate, they heard you say you were taking responsibility for his outstanding balances.
Whether or not they actually changed the name on the credit account from your father's to yours is something you'll need a lawyer to help you figure out by running a credit report on yourself and your deceased father.
If a credit report on you shows that BofA did in fact "transfer" the debt from your father to you, and you've not signed anything to take accountability for his debt (surely you didn't?) then BofA's in for some trouble and you'll need a lawyer to help you straighten the mess out.
If a credit report on you shows that BofA did NOT "transfer" the debt (meaning it doesn't show up on YOUR credit report but does on your fathers) then you can and SHOULD tell BofA to go pound sand and that you'll not pay them one red cent because you are NOT obligated to do so.
Now what the bill collectors are trying to do to you is GUILT you into paying your father's bills. Again, unless you physically signed a piece of paper taking responsibility for his bills (meaning YOU are agreeing to pay them) you are under NO OBLIGATION to pay any bill collector a cent for your father's debt.
It is an unfortunate reality of the economy we live in that bill collectors are being hired to hound the families of the deceased to attempt to "guilt" or "bully" them into paying their loved one's bills in order to make the bill collectors go away. Your best bet here to make them stop would be to get names and addresses of the collection agencies, names (first and last if possible) of those calling you and then contact your local District Attorney or States Attorney General and pursue charges against them for harassment. Of course the obligatory complaint to the BBB is also in order.
Best of luck to you.
Yes, go to www.daveramsey.com and on the right hand side of his web page you will see a section called ELP’s, it stands for Endorced Local Providers. It is a screened database of different financial service providers that are in your specific area. I can tell you that Dave and his team are VERY stringent on those service providers.
OK, just under that section you will see a link to find a “financial counselor” that is actually trained by Dave’s team to help folks with debt and debt collectors. Contact the one that pops up closest to you....
I agree with you, I think that what BofA did is illegal as well. It could very well get the entire debt cancelled or forgiven...
If you do pay off the card make sure you do it out of his account or an estate account NEVER yours. If you do it out of yours all of his creditors can claim you’ve taken responsibility for his bills.
On the other hand unless he actually said in his will to pay off his debts ignore them.