CFPB’s Proposal for Collection of Decedent Debt: a Misguided Approach (Part 2 of 2)

This article previously appeared on Ballard Spahr’s CFPB Monitor and is re-published here with permission.

Gary Becker

In my blog post yesterday, I shared my concerns regarding the potential consequences of the CFPB’s proposed 30-day hold on all collection contacts after the date of a consumer’s death.  A 30-day holding period in which collectors are prohibited from contacting a surviving spouse about a debt would, standing alone, have little impact on the way that decedent debt is collected today at the major agencies that specialize in this work.  However, combining the 30-day hold with the radical proposal to prohibit all collector contact with the tens of thousands of personal representatives who regularly administer the majority of probate estates would completely change the way decedent debt is collected.