Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Executors responsibility after death
My friend died in 1993. I was executor of the will. I didn�t get a lawyer and was fairly na�ve and ignorant about what my responsibilities were. There was an insurance policy divided to various beneficiaries, and IRA to his sister and his federal employee retirement to me. I inherited appox. $50k. I failed to notify his credit card company that he died and just assumed I had to pay the bill. I also found out 18 months ago that I was an authorized user on this account although I never received a credit card. I found out through my credit report and ask the company to take me off the account, which they did. I suspect a friend of his (we had lots of people staying at both residences during his illness and death) had set up my name and taken the card and charged.
The card has $30,000 in debt and I have been paying monthly since 1993. I�m sure I have paid over $40,000. I haven�t been able to pay lately and the account is due to be written off as a bad debt. The payments have become to stressful. How do I let the company know he has passed away and not be liable for this debt? I also have this fear that I am liable for fraud because I didn�t let them know he died and just continued paying as if he were alive.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Executors responsibility after death
Thank you for your question, and I am sorry to hear about the somewhat complicated situation you now face.
As you might expect, a creditor will take payments from any source on an account, and not ask questions. I'm not sure what you had to gain by not notifying them that the original cardholder had died almost 10 years ago, but notifying them now, and not waiting further, would be the prudent course of action. If you have a copy of the death certificate, send it to them with a letter describing the situation, and asking for the account to be closed.
Your liability is not clear. You may be considered a co-signer if you had signed any contracts promising to pay, and the credit card company conceivably could state that they relied on your payments and that you acted as though the debt was yours long enough to be enforceable.
Either way, you don't want to continue to be responsible for payments you can't make. Another option would be bankruptcy, which would wipe out this debt, but for now I would strongly recommend that you document in writing the history here, and let the card company know that you want the account closed and your name taken off.
If you have other questions or need more information, feel free to email me at [email protected], and best of luck.
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