is it unlawful for a collector to harrass the children of a deseased parent with no estate or insurance,will?

Question

our mom lived alone and paid her own bills, and all we did was contact ALL utilties to be disconected, All agreed to Write-Off her debt because there was no estate, no will, no insurance, 7 months later, were still getting collection notices, weve gave death certificates several times, does the state of Ohio have a law or statue that states a person is not responsible for another persons debt unless a contract was made jointly? by the way both parents are deseased and us kids had too cover the cost of the funeral.

Answer 1

sappho is wrong.....The creditors can only make a claim against her estate and if no estate SOL. However Life insurance is good idea because Funeral expenses if not prepaid are a problem because you cannot force anyone to burry your loved one. But You already know that because your family had to cover that bill. The best thing you can do with creditors is respond to them in writing by certified mail. And document any contact they make with you after they receive your certified letter. If that continue multiple times that might get you to harassment But Legally you have little or no actual damages for a court to award you.

Answer 2

Inheritance works not just for assets, but debt as well. When a parent dies with living children and no will, the children receive the parent's assets automatically, split between them. Unfortunately, if the parent was in debt, the debt is passed down to the children as well.

Debt doesn't simply vanish when someone dies. If a person or organization is owed money by someone and that person dies, the debt must still be paid. This is one of the main reasons people get life insurance. Funerals are expensive, and debts must be paid, and if those inheriting the estate don't receive some sort of death benefit like a life insurance payout, they end up having to deal with the costs and debts.

You should talk to a lawyer if you cannot afford to pay the debt. There are several possibilities for working this out. Some of the less pleasant ones include filing for bankruptcy or starting a payment plan. If you get a good lawyer who can work with the debt collectors, you might be able to set something up that works for you. You may even find that there is some sort of law in your area that protects you from this.

Good luck getting this resolved. I hope it works out for you.

Answer 3

Sappho needs to recheck his facts. You are not liable for your mothers debts. However, your mothers assets should have been sold to cover these debts before you received any sort of inheritance. Information you may need to know is that most companies do not collect debts themselves, but turn over a debt to a company to collect for them. These companies do not care how they get the money, only that it is received. If these calls continue, demand that you get the name of the company to whom the debt is owed, the name of the company collecting the debt, and the persons name that is contacting you. First try to resolve this with the company to whom the debt is owed. If this doesn't work then contact the Better Business Bureau.

Answer 4

You can not go a person for someone else's debt. If there was no money in the estate, they are not entitled to anything.

Answer 5

They have no claim against you, it's not your debt. Tell them not to call you anymore.