In May 2014, my mother purchased hearing aids and financed them through a finance company she became ill in July and passed away in August....

Question

In May 2014, my mother purchased hearing aids and financed them through a finance company; she became ill in July and passed away in August. I am the executor of her will; she had no assets (lived w/ me) and we used what life insurance there was to bury her.

Finance company keeps insisting I am liable for this contract and keeps calling me - my understanding is that the debt died with her - they have nothing signed by me, just my mother. What can I do to get them to stop badgering me?

Answer

Write a letter that says what your understanding is and notify them to stop badgering you. If they don't stop after that letter, you may have claims against them under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. You may want an attorney to review the finance papers to make sure your conclusions about them are correct. If you did not sign the papers, you cannot be personally responsible. You can only be responsible if a probate is filed and there are assets against which they can collect. Your status under a will in Florida is a personal representative not executor. The life insurance if payable to you as an individual would not be includable in the probate estate.