How does a succession (probate) deal with the deceased's creditors?

[joshuagraham]

(This is a community property state.) A relative has recently passed, and a certain big bank abruptly canceled his CC that his spouse was using, and sent his CC debt (which was minimal since it was paid off in full every month) to a collection agency (CA). The spouse of the deceased is extraordinary incensed that this has gone to a CA, and she would have had no problem paying this final amount.

I am wondering if any creditors to the deceased have to learn on their own of the succession and send a rep to the succession hearing, like what would happen in a BK 341 case.

Also, is the situation similar to BK in which once the succession is opened, the CA cannot bother anyone, and that the bothered could sue for harassment?

[justbroke]

I can say that I know nothing about probate in California. Since this is California, a community-property State, you'll have to look specifically at California law and nowhere else. I wish I had an answer for you, but I won't even try.

For bankruptcy, there's an automatic stay which prevents certain -- but not all -- collection activities from continuing.

Where they joint account holders or the surviving spouse just an authorized user? Just curious.

[NwodGniog]

I don't know the answer to the OP's question, since we never opened probate for one of our deceased relative's, but I will echo what the OP said about the account being immediately closed and sent to an aggressive debt collection agency immediately after the person died. They did not waste any time and did not give us a chance to pay off the relatively small remaining balance on this one credit card before we started received debt collection calls about it.

One thing I tell people now is, make sure all of your financial accounts have a pay on death or transfer on death already set up before you die. And make sure you keep all the passwords and user names for your various financial accounts in a place where the heirs can find them so they can have access to them immediately if you die.