My mom’s budget.

[Ima saver]

Doesn't sound like there is much you can do.

[rob62521]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I had a friend whose mother charged everything she saw on tv on her credit cards. She had no income except social security. He called the credit card companies and tried to get her accounts closed, but the cc company would not do it!

When my husband's mom died, I called to close the credit card accounts and one person was persistant in telling me I couldn't. I finally gave her the number of the funeral home so she could check that I was telling the truth that she was truly deceased.

[Ima saver]

This lady is still alive. He is afraid he will be responsible for all of the charges she is running up on her credit cards. I don't think he will, cause his mom has all her assets in his name already!

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

This lady is still alive. He is afraid he will be responsible for all of the charges she is running up on her credit cards. I don't think he will, cause his mom has all her assets in his name already!

I'm not sure if you're talking about his liability for the credit card debts before or after she dies.

In either case, the issue isn't who owns the assets. It's who's responsible for the debts. If she alone signed the applications for the cards, then she (while she is alive) or her estate (after she has passed) is liable to pay any outstanding debts. Only if he signed the applications as a joint user (not merely an authorized user) would he have to worry. However, this doesn't stop unscrupulous creditors from trying to scare spouses/widows/widowers into paying ...

[Bookie]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

This lady is still alive. He is afraid he will be responsible for all of the charges she is running up on her credit cards. I don't think he will, cause his mom has all her assets in his name already!

As long as the son's not listed on the account, he has no liability for the debt. The lender can file a claim against the estate, but if there are no assets, that's a dead issue.

Here's an article on liability for parent's debt.

[Ima saver]

No, the son in not on the accounts. The mother has nothing in her name, he gives her an allowance to live on. He talked her into putting all her assets in his name, as her only child. So, the credit card companies will be up the creek, it looks like.

[savvy06]

Doesn't seem that there is much you can do if she doesn't want your help.
Perhaps she's embarassed to ask you to help? Can you find a way to sit her down and in carring way explain to her that you're worried about her future and retirement. She's your mom, but your family and kids must come first, and even if you wanted to help her, you may not be able to financially. She may realize that she might not want to be a burden and will be open to any help. Good luck!

[neatdesign]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I had a friend whose mother charged everything she saw on tv on her credit cards. She had no income except social security. He called the credit card companies and tried to get her accounts closed, but the cc company would not do it!

I have to admit that this is one of the things that annoyed me most when I worked at Capital One: People assuming that being related to someone gives them the right to inquire about or make changes to that other person's accounts, and then getting pissed off at me when I wouldn't discuss the account with them.

The fact is that federal privacy laws prevent creditors from even ACKNOWLEDGING that an account exists if caller is not listed as either a joint cardholder, power of attorney, authorized user or an "ok-to-speak-with," AND can verify all the account information correctly. Even police officers who call in to report a recovered stolen credit card cannot be given any information about the accountholder or the account (ie, were there any charges made recently which might be fraudulent). Otherwise, the creditors have no other way of knowing who is on the other end of the phone. It COULD be your friend's son, or it could be a complete stranger.

If your friend wants her son to be able to discuss and make changes on her accounts, she needs to either make him a joint cardholder or have him added as a power of attorney. Otherwise, he has no more right to call and close her accounts than you or I do.

As for deceased cardholders, people not listed on the accounts CAN call in to notify the credit card company of the cardholder's death and have the accounts closed. These are usually the spouses or children of the deceased. I know Capital One has a specific department (Estates) that deals with accounts of deceased cardholders, but the customer service people get the initial information and the Estates Dept follows up with the person who called.

~ Jenney