Can debt collectors collect from a deceased person?
William Jenkins
Updated on February 03, 2026
Collectors can discuss the debt with the deceased person’s spouse, parent (if the deceased was a minor child), guardian, executor or administrator, or any other person authorized to pay debts with assets from the estate.
What happens if you tell a debt collector your dead?
Once a creditor receives confirmation from your family members that you’ve died–usually via a death certificate–the creditor will notify the credit bureaus. The credit bureaus will then note that you are deceased. Once this occurs, you can’t pull your credit and neither can lenders.
Do you have to pay your mother’s debt after her death?
Simply put, if you are a cosigner on any account with your mother, your responsibility to pay the debt survives her death. Community Property Exception. In community property states, the responsibility to pay your spouse’s debts continues after the death of one spouse as well.
Who is responsible for deceased parents debt if there is no will?
This will close the account and inform the creditor that paying this debt will be handled in probate. Probate is what is done by the state or through attorneys either by verifying a will or assessing the estate. If there is no will, the state will look at the assets of the deceased’s estate and pay off any debts.
When do children have to pay off parents debts?
But there are certain circumstances where children may have to pay off the debts left by their parents. A son or daughter will have to pay the debt of their mother or father, for example, if the child co-signed on a loan or is a joint account holder on a credit card.
Can a son be responsible for his mother’s debt?
As such, being a son or daughter is not enough to make you liable for your mother’s unpaid obligations. While this applies to other relatives as well, there are a couple exceptions: Cosigning for the Debt. When you “cosign” on a credit contract with someone else, you each agree to be responsible for the debt.