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Consumers beware… You may not be responsible for the debts of deceased relatives.
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Written by Eric Yeaster   
Thursday, 20 August 2009 12:02

 

The Federal Trade Commission has recently issued an alert to consumers that debt collectors who contact the family members of deceased debtors attempting to collect on the respective debts of the deceased may be breaking the law. [1]

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act defines a “debt” as:

Any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance or services which are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not such obligation has been reduced to judgment.[2]

 

Further, the FDCPA defines a consumer as, “Any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt.”[3] The combined usage of these definitions by the FDCPA leaves very little room for debt collectors to legally attempt to collect on a debt incurred by someone other than the actual debtor (consumer) themselves. In fact, there are serious limitations on even the mere contact of third parties by debt collectors attempting to collect on a debt. The FDCPA allows contact of a third party to confirm a debtor’s location information, but not much else.[4] Thus, contacting a family member (third party) to confirm a debtor has passed away certainly seems reasonable under the act; however, pressuring a family member to make a payment on the debt of a deceased relative is almost certainly a violation.   

 

As listed in the FTC alert, it is the estate of the deceased that is liable for any debts owed by the deceased; moreover, if the decedent’s estate runs out of resources prior to the payment of all the debts owed by the deceased family member then these debts most often simply go unpaid.


[2] 15 U.S.C.A. § 1692a(5)

[3] 15 U.S.C.A. § 1692a(3)

[4] 15 U.S.C..A § 1692b

 

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