probate/bills owed?

My Mother passed away in January 2000 in Ohio. Her estate is in probate and there were several bills that are to be paid out of her estate. One particular bill I have a question about is a credit card company. When I filed with the probate I was told the creditors had 1 year to file a claim against the estate or they would not get paid. This credit card company had a balance of more than 10,000 and they have sent no bill and will not reply to mail from the lawyer to even acknowledge the balance owed. He has repeatedly contacted them with no response at all. The estate is on hold until we find out something from them and it has been 20 months now! The lawyer is telling me this company can come back years from now and sue the heirs for this bill.
Isn't there a law on the amount of time a creditor has to collect their money or even to acknowledge the bill is due when someone passes away?

AUG. 27, 2001

DEAR LITTLLADY:

Yes, there is a 1-year time period for creditors to file a claim or they will not get paid.

However, if you have reasonable proof that this debt is still outstanding and due (for example, a credit card statement that shows the outstanding balance--haven't you all been receiving monthly statements from the credit card company showing the amount due?), it would be wise and responsible on your part to go ahead and pay the full balance (or a partial balance, whichever you are able to afford to do) to get the matter resolved and have peace of mind against future legal action.

I agree that is is poor customer service on the credit card company's side not to respond to your requests for a bill, but don't you see that their advantage to not responding is that the bill will increase each month (added interest and service charges) which means more money for them? If you were to report to the probate court that you can't pay the bill until you hear from the company, that would be viewed as somewhat silly.

To get things sped up now, you should find out the name of the president or CEO of the credit card company (they probably have a website where you can get the mailing address), and send your request to him (have your attorney write the letter and send it by certified mail), where it is more likely you would then get an appropriate response.

Go ahead and do the right thing and it will work out in your favor in the long run.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]

they have sent no bills

The credit card company has sent no bills at all since they found out she had passed away. I have no way of knowing if they have added anything to the balance. When she died I gave them the lawyers name, address and phone number but they have never contacted the office. I gave the office the last bill we received (which was her regular statement about the same time as she died) and they have sent several certified letters so we know they received it. They tried calling the company and they were told someone would have to return their call. Nobody has ever called. I agree with you and want to do the right thing but why wouldn't a credit card company respond to something like this? If they have a year to file a claim and didn't do it then how could they sue the heirs for the bill years later?

AUG. 27, 2001

Almost anything could have happened to your letters--it could have been lost or misplaced, or they are too busy to respond, but the main thing is that they get more money, as I said before, by letting the bill grow larger in interest and in service charges, by not responding. That would also be their motivation for coming back years later, when the amount they could receive would be almost double what was previously owed! The main thing you need to do now is to call or write to the CEO/President of the company, and I assure you that he will take action.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]