Probate collections–managing for the “two-minute drill
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This article, the second in a series on collecting deceased consumer debt, focuses on the hodgepodge of state laws governing the collection of consumer debt once a consumer becomes deceased. There is a comparison of the rules of the game under the Uniform Probate Code and other state probate laws, and discussion of the probate claims process and the general process of pre-death collections, the applicability of certain other laws after death, and the extent to which current probate laws are inappropriate to the current realities of the consumer credit industry. Death has a way of complicating things. The consumer credit industry’s procedures are fairly standard across the spectrum of the debtor-creditor relationship, ranking from qualification, to extension of credit, to collection during life. Except for certain state law variations, of course, the processes, procedures, and laws governing privacy, collection practices, foreclosures, credit reporting, lawsuits, and bankruptcies tend to be quite harmonious and even complementary. Whatever happens, we all pretty much have procedures and forms in plate to deal with it. However, once a consumer dies, things get a little weird because: 1) the rules of the game change suddenly; 2) creditors often may not know what the new rules are until the game is nearly over; and 3) the clock begins to tick away well before creditors even know the game has changed. This is the “two-minute drill.” More : accessmylibrary.com |