Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
My 84 yr old mother who resides in California and lives on Social Security added my sister to her credit card account. My sister charged thousands of dollars and now the credit card company is contacting my mother. What are her options? My mother cannot pay it. My mother is on a fixed income.Can the c.c co. touch her bank account without her knowledge? Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Legally, your mother is equally liable for the debt. The bank can not do anything without first getting a judgment from the court by suing your mother. So her account is safe but if she is worried she can change bank accounts. She should try to change credit card accounts if your sister has access to the card. Your mother should contact the credit card company and tell them what happened and that she is on a fixed income so can not pay anything; she should follow it up with a confirming letter. It likely will have no effect on them. When they start calling her about the bill she then needs to send them a letter saying not to contact her.
Your mother is the victim of Elder Financial Abuse. This needs to be reported to the police.
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