Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

You are not personally liable for her debt. If there was money in her estate and there is a valid debt which they can prove, the estate will have to pay it - not you personally. However, if they cannot find the loan documents and therefore cannot prove there is a valid debt, they may be out of luck. The best advice for you would be to contact an estate attorney to help you through this. Once you tell the bank that you are represented, they will not be able to call you any more.

As noted, you are not personally liable for your mother's debts. An estate will need probated for your mother and a notice will have to be sent to the loan company to file a claim with her estate. If the claim is valid, then it can be paid provided that there are sufficient assets in the estate. If it is not valid, the personal representative can deny the claim.

I agree with Ms. Russell that you should contact a probate attorney who practices in the county where an estate for your mother would be pending, Failing that, speak with the probate court clerk to see whether your mother had assets to even justify probate. If no probate is warranted, then notify the bank where the joint checking account was located to close the account. I would send a letter, via certified mail, to this lender and advise that your mother borrowed funds, that she is deceased (include a copy of her death certificate), that she had no assets justifying probate, that an estate will not be probated, that you are not liable for your mother's debts and they are not to bother you further. But I would only do this if there are no assets to probate.

Something does not seem right about this "loan." This sounds suspiciously like a payday loan which your mother kept rolling over and over. If that is the case, payday loans are illegal in NC.

And newsflash = debt collectors lie! All the time! They want paid and if they told you the truth, then they know you will not pay. So they tell you some cock and bull story hoping to bamboozle you into paying. I am aware of nothing which renders a person liable on a contract just because their name is on a checking account.