Bwah! Must vent about creditors and estate law

Okay.
Earlier this summer, my BF's mother passed away unexpectedly and tragically. My BF was the only child and his parents are divorced, so he had the sad duty of becoming the administrator of her "estate". She had quite a bit of debt, and no assets except a bank account, a little bit of cash and a car. Of course, when someone dies, there is a lot of legal crap to deal with. So my step-mom the lawyer offered to handle all of it for us. (She is wonderful, and like the rest of my family, considers my BF part of the family.) She's doing a great job.
BUT....
We got a freakin' letter from one of her credit cards and copy of an affidavit which was filed in the state where her estate was! They KNOW that there is a lawyer representing the estate and that they are to send ALL corresponance and calls to that lawyer!! They even tried to call my BF to harrass him for money AFTER they had notice that he has a lawyer and that everything is handled by HER!! They didn't even send a copy of this legal notice to our lawyer. ::censor::censor::censor::
I am so mad I could spit. I almost called the credit card company and cussed some people...they know d@mn good and well that there is a lawyer handling this and that they are to send everything to her.
It's like trying to get blood from a stone, anyway...my BF's mother had just enough to pay for the funeral and burial....
Add to that we are fighting with her bank trying to get them to acknowledge that she had a life insurance policy, which they say she didn't have, but my BF and I WATCHED her sign papers for at the bank....

Sorry for that....
I just had to vent a bit. I am frustrated and angry.

That just sucks. But I know how bad credit companies are about getting money. They can be sneaky and underhanded.

I know what you mean...I know plenty of people who have gone through bankruptcies and when credit cards or any other bills are no longer being paid or have had a freeze put on them, the creditors ALLLL come out of the woodwork and are like, "Where's my money?" And then the customer can't exactly disclose they are in bankruptcy proceedings so they are given lawyer's numbers. This happened to a friend of mine, who had his car "voluntarily repossessed" after his bankruptcy. The bank who held the note tried to come after him for whatever the loan remainder was after it was auctioned off. They violated every legal statute in the federal bankruptcy...it wasn't like they didn't know!

I swear, creditors just look for weakened people who will just pay $$ to shut these bothersome folks off. The danged sharks I feel for your beau though...here he is, dealing with such a sensitive issue as his mother's estate and he's getting bothered by needless phone calls.

Try reading "Two Income Trap" because he's not the only one who's been in this situation. Sears card collections notoriously harassed grieivng families for like $2000 credit balances after a cardholder passed away with threatening phone calls. It's disgusting!
Anyway, sorry for my rant back at ya! You have every right to be frustrated and angry.

PS On a side note, my grandmother's nickname was "Miss Kitty."

Geeze.....I am so sorry for you and your BF...I hope everything works out... dont let them harass you...you tell them whats up ok .....

good luck....and my condolences to your BF

I am sure your step mom will go after them ... they have brokend many laws for which the $$ penalities are steep..

Thanks to all for the good vibes and for "listening", if you can call it that on the internet. hehe
We're visiting my dad and step-mom tomorrow, and my BF is taking the stuff to her...when people mess with her family, she is like a pit-bull...so it'll get taken care of. I just hate that those companies are putting my BF through this crap...just when he's starting to come to terms with things, something new pops up.
I figure after all the crap they've done, this company could at least write off the money that they weren't going to get to begin with...it's not like they aren't making money hand over fist on ridiculous interest rates, anyway....

I am sorry for what you are going through. I am a Debt Collections Manager at a Federal Credit Union and have been in the industry for over 15 years. I have personally worked for a very large Credit Card Company in their Fraud Department, but I know they pay their employees to "hard ball" debtors and do whatever it takes to get the money on the collections side of it. Credit Card Collectors are some of the worst to work with.

It can be very stressful dealing with most debt collectors. I hope things work out ok for you and you BF. Just continue to be there and support him through this rough period, it will all be over soon.

Maybe your boyfriend could get an answering machine to screen the calls (don't pick up the phone) or change your number to one that is unlisted. You could also call each credit card company and let them know the situation and ask them to call off the collectors. They will have to wait until the estate is settled to get their money (if any is left).

Can your step mother give you some advice on this issue (what to say to these insensitive people)?

As for the collection letters. I wouldn't even open them. I would give them directly to your step mother. Or "Return to sender - addressee is deceased".