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.
To add to what usconserative said, don’t ever pay a single cent on your dad’s Visa. If you do, they can make a legal case that by doing it you assumed responsibility for the whole debt. Then you really are screwed.