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Responsibility For A Deceased Spouse's Bills

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  • 01-23-2007, 01:32 PM
    hojo800
    Responsibility For A Deceased Spouse's Bills
    My father recently passed away after an illness, leaving my mother with 1/3 of the income they had together, credit card debt and medical bills in his name, as well as an annuity.
    She currently cannot afford to pay her current household bills, let alone his medical bills or credit cards. The annuity is all she has to make ends meet. Collection agencies are starting to call to settle these accounts and we informed them of her predicament. Is she responsible for the credit card and medical bills that are in his name?
    She is the beneficiary of the annuity, but can they go after it to pay my father's debts?

    We also have another problem. Just 4 days after my father's death a credit card collection company fraudulently withdrew money from my parents checking account (got routing number of bank account and wrote themselves two checks totaling $2,009.) stating that my father "authorized" this settlement. Upon notifying the bank of this activity, we informed them that my father was disabled and unable to speak or handle his affairs for the prior 4 months AND that he had passed away before this was authorized.
    In the end, the bank refunded us the money, but another collection agency is trying to get the balance now. Because of this, I am VERY weary of all collection agencies now and want to know how to proceed with a claim against this particular agency. I don't know who to contact and complain to regarding this company's actions. They were based out of Canada. Any suggestions?
  • 01-24-2007, 09:29 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Deceased spouse's bills in Tennessee
    Without knowing what contractual or legal duty she has to pay the bills, it's impossible to guess whether she is obligated to pay at all. Her best option is probably to consult a bankruptcy lawyer who should be able to help her figure out what she does and does not owe, and should also be able to advise her as to whether bankruptcy would be a good option for her. I suspect that she would both qualify for and benefit from a Chapter 7 discharge, assuming her debt load justifies filing for bankruptcy.
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