[ldeath]

Hi My parents recently passed away and I had to close there credit card from bank of america and the outstanding balance I owe since they did not have the credit card insurance. My parents also had this card connected to there overdraft protection on the checking account for which I kept but had there names removed and reported as deceased with copies of death certificates etc. So the card account is closed. But I recently had a couple of insufficient funds on that be of a account and they approved it on the deceased account. Now how legal is this for them to do this. I need some kind of legal advise to use against the lawyer that is harassing me to pay there outstanding balance. To me this is very illegal for them to do this action. It's a deceased account and is closed so how can they bill the card?? Thanks any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Ldeath

[RickJ]

But i recently had a couple of insufficient funds on that b of a account and they approved it on the deceased account.

What do you mean by this? Are you using the card? Where did these charges come from?

If you did not use the account - and are not a cardholder on the account, you cannot be pursued for any balance.

[Krs]

If money is still owed on card the bank really and truly don't care whether the holder is deceased, all they care about is the money owed, and that's when they start harressing the next of kin... which in this case is you!

As much as it sounds unfair.. it's the law!

[Fr_Chuck]

It does not matter what the bank wants or thinks.

If the credit card was your parents, and your name was not on it, you just don't pay it, you inform them they are dead, and send them a copy of the death certificate and return the bills marked deceased.

They can not report this against your credit, and can not make you pay.

If you are using the card that is also an matter since it is not legal for you to do so either,

When people die, they lease an esate, any money they have or property may be sold and that money pays all the bills it can, any bill that can not be paid, just does not get paid,

So unless your name is on that credit card, that back is cheating you.

[ScottGem]

First, my condolences on your loss. However, your question is confusing. When a person dies, a creditor's only claim is against the estate. If there are no funds in the estate to pay those claims, then the debts will be written off. The only way you would be personally responsible for those debts is if you were listed as a co signer.

If you were the executor of their estate, you would be responsible for paying debts out of any assets in the estate, but not from your personal assets.

But, here comes the kicker, if you assumed responsibility for a debt or an account and used that account as your own or paid off balances out of your own funds, a court might rule that you accepted responsibility for those debts. In which case you could owe them.

Now as to the funds applied to this account due to overdrafts, this is a tricky situation. Since you continued to use this checking account, going so far as to have it transferred to your name, you assumed responsibility for it. YOU wrote out those checks, they covered those checks, even though they should have let them bounce. Ergo, these are not debts that died with your parents, but debts that you owe. If they hadn't covered them, the checks would have bounced and not only would you owe the money to the payee of the checks, but you would have been charged a NSF fee (such fees are getting pretty hefty).

So, In my opinion, the lawyer for the bank has a case against you. I would advise you to pay overdraft charges.

[ldeath]

I have power of attorney for my parents but it was there credit card and after my mother passed away then I closed the credit card account and had there names taken off the bank account. This credit agency keeps calling me to pay it which I had no problem with doing but now evidently my parents had there credit card linked to there bank account for any insufficient funds then it would be paid on the credit card and I was unaware of this. So I recently had a couple insufficient funds and I called the bank and they asked me if I had a card linked to the account for insufficient funds and I told them I didn't because I don't have one. So they gave me the last 4 digits of the card number so I looked it up and it was the card that I had cancelled with the bank that belonged to my deceased parents. So they are still accepting charges on this account and I don't know what to do about it and I don't think that is legal for them to do. The account was closed deceased and therefore no charges should be made and the account should have been taken off the bank account when I took there names off the bank account and I still kept the account just had them removed since my name was on the bank account but not the credit card. So I hope this explains things a little better and if anyone can advise me as to what to do about this I would be so appreciative. Thank you all for your replies. I look forward to hearing back from you.

[ScottGem]

The power of attorney expired with the death of your parents. You should have closed the bank account as well, not just taken their names off it.

What you didn't answer is whether you wrote those checks. If you wrote those checks then you are responsible for that debt. In effect the bank did you a favor by covering the overdrafts using the closed account. If they hadn't the checks would have bounced and you would have had to pay the fees. These can be pretty hefty since both your bank AND the payee will often charge fees.

So pay the balance and make sure the account is closed so it doesn't happen in the future.

[kp2171]

You need to be clear, as was mentioned, about the source of the original charges (not the overdraft charges).

We had a credit account, different circumstances, that was closed for several months. Then there was a charge applied, we think from an old subscription (that was a relatives, but we had paid for once) that somehow automatically re-upped. In this case, it was just a matter of reporting it an waiting a few months for the company to investigate the circumstances. Is the source of the credit charges something like this?

I also had an employer screw up a direct deposit once and it went to an old bank I once used, even though the account was closed months prior, it still went through the wire. So I imagine you could have some of the same headaches with charges and the link to the bank account.

[ldeath]

The only estate there really is... is the mobile home I bought before mom passed away in January for which I transferred to my name now. I have a brother that is handicapped and I need a roof over his head so I can't see me selling it any time soon. So can they like put a lien on it or something if this debt is not paid? Someone told me I should homestead it then they can't touch it. Does anyone know of this kind of thing? Thank you all for answering. This is a weird situation but my name was on the checks and the acount was mine and my parents at one time I just had there name taken off the account. The credit card never was in my name.

[ScottGem]

You still haven't made it clear, DID YOU write those checks?? You keep looking at this from the wrong perspective. Your thinking is, since the account was closed then you lucked out and don't owe. But that's not the way it works. The question is whether you wrote those checks. If you did then you HAVE to cover those checks. The bank could, very easily, reverse the transaction and take the money from the checking account. Which could then result in more bounced checks costing you more money! That's the third time I've told you that, yet you keep ignoring it.

[ldeath]

You I wrote those checks but how can they charge a account that has closed. I would have gladly paid the overdraft charges. And that charge account should not be connected to this account any longer since I showed proof of deceased persons. And the credit card account was closed. They should have advised me at the bank that this credit card was on there for overdraft protection and they did not do that. I kept this account because I was on it in the first place and used it and they said I could just keep the account and take there names off it so I did just that not knowing there was a credit card involved and linked to this account. So if they can charge on it then anyone can huh? Don't make any sense to me at all. I mean I closed this account so no further charges would be made. So what makes it rite for them to use it they should have had it unlinked from the account as deceased and closed and charged me the person of the bank account the overdraft charges. That's like me charging to there account here. I would never and that is why I had it closed. They were small overdrafts and I would have gladly paid them and then they never sent me any notices of overdraft I found out by calling them and asking why I was not charged for the overdraft and at that time they told me it was covered under this credit card. So when I took them off the account since my name was not on the credit card then they should have asked me if I still wanted the overdraft protection on that credit card but that is not the case here. Usually when a account is closed for deceased person there are no further charges period is what I'm trying to say. So what gives them the rite to charge a closed deceased account the credit card did not belong to me in the first place. We are talking about 2 different accounts here there's and then my bank account only. There's closed and my bank account still open.

[ScottGem]

You never made a mistake? That's what happened here. The bank made a mistake in allowing the credit account to be used to cover the overdrafts. So now what do you do about it? Instead of carping about the mistake, lets correct it and move on. Remember, the bank did you a favor here. This worked out to YOUR advantage because the fees for a bounced check would probably be a lot more than the interest on the overdrafts. You should be happy the mistake was made, not complaining about it.

This is not like they added any random charges. Someone didn't cancel the overdraft link so when the checks didn't have enough funds in the account the link was activated.

So what's the next steps? First, arrange to pay off whatever balance is on the account. You owe this money. Second, make sure the bank closes the account. Ask for a letter from them acknowledging that the account has been closed and the link severed.

BTW, I think overdraft coverage is a great tool. If you pay off the balances right away, the cost is usually much less than the fees charged. Plus you don't have the stigma with the payee.