Collecting Decedents' Accounts
The New Federal Trade Commission Rules and More!
A NorthLegal Webinar presented September 29, 2011
(Approximately 2 hr:23 min including Q&A.)

Cost/Registration | Regions Affected | Co-Hosts | How to Attend a Webinar

Collecting consumer debts after the borrower has passed away has always been difficult.  Now, new Federal Trade Commission rules add a layer of complexity making it even more of a challenge!

It may be popular or politically expedient to criticize collectors—especially those saddled with the sensitive task of trying to recover from the estate of a borrower who has died—and certainly there are abuses that must be stopped.  And if there is no money to pay, there is no money to pay.  But what about when there is money (or assets that could be liquidated for money) that should be used to pay a decedent's debts but no one comes forward to settle the accounts?

Of course, friends and relatives have no obligation to pay the borrower's debts out of their own pockets, but what about friends and relatives who have taken the deceased borrower's property?

And what about secured loans?  What are a consumer lender's rights when collateral is in the hands of one of the decedent's heirs?  Does it matter if that heir is making payments?  (Hint: It might!)

How about deposit accounts?  May the creditor apply the funds held on deposit to the deceased borrower's debts?

To complicate matters further, the new Federal Trade Commission rules place additional limits on who certain collectors can talk to and even the words collectors can say!

Attorney Eric North wrote his first manual regarding how to collect decedents' accounts more than 25 years ago and has handled cases and taught extensively on the subject ever since.  During this program, he helps participants understand—

• how the new FTC rules affect consumer lenders attempting to collect debts owed by deceased borrowers, whether those rules apply to you, and why they matter even if they don't apply.
• who you can (and cannot) talk to when collecting decedents' accounts and what you can (and cannot) say.
• what your rights are when a relative or friend of the decedent has (or is living in) your collateral.
• the difference between formal and informal estate administration, why it matters, and how to handle each.
• why some of a deceased borrower's assets are beyond the reach of creditors.
  

You can't make the subject "easy," but you can learn how to make the most of the rights that you have.

NOTE: This program is intended for employees of consumer lending institutions. Please contact NorthLegal Training and Publications to obtain approval before registering if you are not an employee of a consumer lending institution.

Cost/Registration
The fee to attend this archived program is $145.00 if paid by credit card or $155.00 if paid by check. For that fee, you or someone from your financial institution may view this program as often as you like for a period of 30 days.

Co-Hosts
Although financial institutions from any state may attend this program, this program is jointly hosted by NorthLegal Training and Publications, by credit union and other consumer lending institution leagues and associations serving:

by the following local or regional associations:

• The California Credit Union Collectors Council
• The New England Adjustment Managers Association
• The NorthWest Credit Union Collectors Association

and by the law firm of

Moore, Brewer, Jones, Tyler & North

(Participants do not have to be members of any of those leagues or associations in order to attend.)

How to Attend a Webinar
To attend this archived NorthLegal Webinar, please do the following:

• Register.  To register online using a credit card, visit the link shown earlier on this page. To register by mail, call NorthLegal at 623.537.7150.
• Check your email. Within moments after you complete the registration process you should receive two emails.  One will be a receipt for the transaction and the other will contain a link and detailed instructions explaining how to use that link to attend the program. 
• Download the handout materials by clicking the link shown earlier in these materials.
• Call NorthLegal to obtain the password to open the handout materials.

You or someone from your financial institution may view the program as often as you like for a period of 30 days after you register.