Notification of death to credit bureaus; why must this be done?

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Notification of death to credit bureaus; why must this be done?

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I have "heard" you have to notify Experian/Equifax/Transunion of death if you are the survivor. Does everyone do this? They make the task quite onerous with requiring death certificates, Letters testamentary and etc. If you have ALREADY cancelled all credit cards why must this be done? I understand their concerns about identify theft, but in all truth, the person who is dead can hardly be held responsible for debts when everything else has been cancelled.

End of Life Financial Planning

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I froze my parents' credit even before my dad died. (I have POA and am the Trustee.)

Believe me, people get into accounts fast. I just discovered my dad had a Twitter account, and while he never used it as far as I can tell, it's been hacked. He's been gone since November of 2018, but someone's trying to use his account.

If your parent(s) have a Facebook account, too, get them to assign you as their legacy person, because it's almost impossible to close a FB account if someone's dead. I did that with my dad's account, too, and shut it down immediately after he died.

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What I think I've noticed in regard to finances after death of parents and spouse:

Many workers across the board do not always understand the rules etc. - or their supervisors don't, so we're asked to submit/re-submit. This applied to both correct and incorrect requests. So I just made lots of copies and kept a few official for when really needed. I still have some of each on hand in case of future requests. I remind myself the requests are their "wants". They want it because they think they need it.

To that end, I took both Mom's and my spouse's death certificates to Social Security soon after death to verify SS did in fact know of the deaths. I sent copies of death certificates to all 3 credit bureaus for both. Mostly things are taken care by the agency or creditor or mortuary involved, but one mistake by any of those workers or ourselves can be a nightmare.

I checked 1 of 3 credit bureaus to look at my report due to above issues. The first reflects correct information. I will examine the 2nd & 3rd reports later in the year. This helps me track if anything changes on my credit due to spouses death. Reports do reflect my sole ownership of a couple joint accounts that I still use.
I've notified homeowner and auto insurance by a personal visit with the death certificate in hand. I'm also doing checks on my credit to see if any unknown debts from a medical provider shows up on my credit report as a "joint" account.

When selling old family home, Dad had been deceased 4 years. When Mom died 2 years later, county records reflected the house was sold. County records reflected my siblings and me as the owners. The closing required I submit both death certificates before I could close the sale. I had to send the documents that proved I was the designated heir to sale the family home.
My dearly departed dad hadn't owned the house for 4 years and his name was no longer even listed on county records, insurances etc. as a current owner. Mom's had been removed 2 years earlier, but I had to send 4 official copies to distribute to various parties involved in the sale.
There were a couple places I did not send the death certificate to because I was not sure they were legitimate. I told them if they could send proof I was legally required to give such information to them, I would. I told them as legal executor I was required to make sure all requests were legitimate.

An interesting thing that happened within a week after important documents with my mom's name & address from 2,000 miles away was forwarded to me, the postal lady came to my door and asked if this was correct. She wanted to make sure it was not mail that had gone astray. I told her it was my mom and that I was handling her estate so a lot of mail from 2,000 miles away with her name was in fact correct. She did not want to disturb me, but she just did not feel good about maybe delivering important mail to the wrong address.

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Looks like I have answered my own question. Apparently if you contact these three entities they will try to make you jump hoops; but that is to get a copy of the credit report, as well, which in my case I do not need.
The question was answered on the Experian Question and answer site. They are notified by Social Security. Says if you want to bed double certain send a COPY of the death certificate (not the legal one you paid for) and send to Experian. Once you notify one they notify the others. As it turns out they are ALSO notified when you close down any credit cards. So turns out the hoops they try to put us through are only more hoops, but that won't surprise us.

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My friend spent hours on hold yesterday, wanting to inform the credit bureaus of her husband's death last week. TransUnion wanted her to send the death certificate, a copy of his driver's license, a copy of her driver's license, and other documentation. She gave up and finally called her bank about the issue. Her particular Bank has a policy of informing the credit bureaus, and their customers don't have to worry about this.

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You should not have to do a thing, once funeral home lets SS know of death, the number should be sent out online alerting all that the person is deceased.

I know if they have prescriptions at pharmacies, etc CVS, Walgreens, etc, the prescriptions are cancelled and deleted from their systems.

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Yes, notify all credit bureaus with copy of Death Certificate. Don't bother notifying over phone. Send and keep copies.

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When my husband died , Social Security apparently notified all three credit bureaus. About 6 months later, I was checking my credit, and I noticed there was a huge bill with late payment status, from BoA. To the tune of $13,000.! I called and we had a chat. The report came from a mastercard that had been taken out after my husband became ill. The cards that were issued had my husband's name, and his daughter. She had talked him into signing the application, as principal, and her address listed so the cards wouldn't come to my mailbox. She made good use of them it seems. Anyway, when his death was reported, this card business bounced over to my credit report. I spent two years trying to get it removed - filing a dispute. Every time I filed, it popped up that I was deceased. After two years of fighting , they finally removed the charge from my credit report. My credit rating went from 850 down to less than 200, in a matter of months. I have finally got it back where it was, but the point here is check your credit report every week. It's free at; Credit karma.com.....you can and probably will, at some point, get the shaft if you don't check, and recheck. And make sure they know you're alive.

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Jazzy, this is a perfect case for putting a security freeze on all credit for anyone.

They are a sure fire way to stop unethical people from getting credit in/with someone that doesn't understand what is happening.

We had id theft many years ago and have kept our credit frozen ever since. Not a big hassle, when we are planning a purchase we release the freeze for a couple days and then refreeze. Never had another problem, even when we have been notified of security breaches and information loss.

I recommend that everyone does this to protect themselves.

Glad you got it sorted out and very sorry that it was done by someone you should have been able to trust.

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Yes, either the executor of the estate or SSA must notify the credit reporting bureaus.

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Mom passed a few years ago. I had gotten a couple of lists from the Internet as to what to do when a loved on dies. I was POA, etc. I contacted all three of the credit bureaus, and they told me how to handle. I believe I sent a letter to each of the three bureaus to confirm she was deceased. I don't remember if they needed death certificates, maybe not. The bureaus will tell you. I felt more secure in knowing that as a result of my taking action, some crook could not open credit in her name or otherwise defraud.

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I just put a freeze on all the credit agencies for my husband when he passed so no one could open accounts in his name. A lot simpler than notifying of death and I was able to do all of them on the phone

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I didn’t do this when my parents passed. Maybe probate did it? Is it a state specific thing? It was never mentioned by anybody to me and I was personal representative for both of my parents. First time I have heard of it.

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Like Debster, I didn't find it hard at all.

In 2018, after Mom passed I took Mom's certified death certificate and mailed it to Experian per their requirements. They'll notify the other credit agencies.

Heck, about the same time I even ordered a certified death certificate from the State (Kansas, and the online application was easy) for my stepdad who had been dead 18 years! I sent in a letter and the original certificate to Experian. I figured it was the final thing I could do for him.

The address that was on Experian's site was PO Box 4500, McAllen, TX 75013. Go on their website and see if anything's changed in the few years since. It's easy and rewarding to ensure her financial peace is secure.

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Identity theft is a real problem. In truth, the deceased person's estate could be held liable. I simply sent a letter with a copy of the death certificate for my father who passed in December. I didn't find it onerous at all.

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When my mom passed the funeral home said they would contact SS which would notify Medicare but I took it upon myself to make sure.
I did have to provide a death certificate to one credit agency as well as having my mom's attorney contact our local newspaper to put a notice of her death so any creditor would be fully aware.

Don't provide a copy of her death certificate to everyone like my mom had a gym membership that she refused to cancel even though she hadn't used it in years.

When I called to cancel her membership they wanted a copy of her DC.I said no and wasn't concerned because the cc associated with the fee was cancelled.

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I have never heard of this, but googled it and this came up:
"Reporting a Death of a Loved One to TransUnion. There can be a lot to take care of when a loved one has passed away, but it's important to notify the credit reporting agencies so the individual's credit report can be marked as deceased and you can help prevent theft of their identity."
I suspected identity theft to be the reason. Then I googled "who should notifiy credit bureaus" thinking maybe the funeral room notified, like they notify the SSA. This came up:
Consult a qualified trusts and estates attorney to determine if you are the person entitled to notify the agencies on behalf of your loved one. agencies by telephone to report the death: Experian (888-397-3742), Equifax (800-685-1111) and TransUnion (800-888-4213). Request the credit report is flagged as “Deceased.
I'd just call them myself and see what each needs. Although it may be the case that if you notify one of them, that entity notifies the others, You could ask when you call. This was a great question. Thanks! Now I know.

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Just tried calling Experian. Recorded message. Only option was to try to freeze account. Would not let me talk to a live person. The requirements to freeze an account - must mail every conceivable piece of documentation except for your first born's food preferences - was unreal. I think I'll just hope for the best. Thanks, ArtMom58 for posting the phone numbers.

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Just give them a call. that's usually enough

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I notified social security they notified the bank where her deposits went the same bank did her credit card so that was ok they closed , we had to send death certificates to her life insurance and all her money accounts, the bank so she could be taken off the account
I suggest anyone having older parents with dementia get a joint account before they get to far along if they let you and become social security representative payee sure helped us

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NO NO NO .... ON JOINT ACCOUNTS! If you have to put an elder parent in a nursing home and apply for Medicaid they will consider all money is elder parent's. For years, I had a joint account with my mom, just as an emergency fund for car, house repairs (or new car) plumbing, etc. I paid into the account not my mom. When I had to put her in nursing home because of demintia, Medicaid did a five year "look back" and said all the money in the account was considered hers .... over $5,000 which would have made her not eligible for Medicaid until all the money was spent on her nursing home bill.

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I cancelled my mother’s credit cards after her death but then a few years later she was sent a new credit card through the mail. I called the bank and they said that I should have notified the credit bureau because if someone had intercepted it they could have racked up debt in her name. The checklist from the government on dealing with an estate did not mention this. The bank could have come after the estate if it had not yet been settled or come after me if I had made any payments from my personal accounts on that particular credit card.

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I think there is some statute of limitations, as well, Snowfall, but don't know what it is. It is the reason one has to "publish" that all creditors must contact estate. I think it is within a year. If they do not the statute closes their ability to recover. But I am limited on my knowledge of that and imagine it goes according to the state. Cali is basically correct. Just do it. It amounts to a copy only of the death certificate, and notification of death and not to issue any credit in the name of that person with that social security number.

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Good idea, but I never did it and I don't remember it being on the list of things I should do from Probate. Mom had cut up her charge cards 10 yrs before she passed.

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When I mentioned this to the lawyer settling the estate, they were surprised and didn't think necessary. I think you can't be too careful. When I started to do this, there was no clear way to do it. Phone numbers and addresses were invalid. Thank you for directions which worked for you.

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I don't remember having to provide a Death Certificate after my mother, father or sister died. I did notify by phone, but I think that's all.

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I wonder if they have a way to verify...because just a phone call with as disgusting as some humans are these days, could be anyone calling to say someone was dead when they weren't...

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Generally this is done to protect the surviving spouse. Yes, there are scammers that keep an eye on the obits and apply for new credit using the name of deceased. You cannot begin to understand the depth of the hassle to clear up an identity theft...now imagine how much hard that is for a 80 or 90 year old to deal with.

all it takes is a letter and a death certificate,,,then the credit report is marked deceased. I did this on behalf of my Mom when my Dad died. Not really any hassle at all....just a quick letter and a death certificate.

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Can it be a copy of the DC or must it be the “official” copy from the state? The original copies are expensive!

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I had placed a credit freeze about two years ago but still sent in death certificate to Equifax. They sent it to all the other credit bureaus so that did help. My mom's credit card number was used about six weeks after her death. Even the bank could not figure out HOW they did this, but I had to fill out paperwork and sign it stating that it was not her purchase or anyone else in the family. They sell the info on the dark web.

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Yes, had the same problem.
The way things are today, it seems you can't trust anyone.

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Alva.......dead people can be the victim of identity theft. Would you want creditors coming after the estate for debt racked up by a criminal? I don’t think so. And suppose the deceased had joint accounts. The joint account holder could re-open the accounts and start racking up debt. And if you didn’t run the dead persons credit report, can you be sure there aren’t open lines of credit? My MILs credit cards may have been cut up and the accounts closed but her credit still needed to be frozen, the bureaus notified of her death and there were lots of accounts we never would have known about if we hadn’t run her credit & placed a freeze on it.

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This was a service provided by the funeral home when my step dad died in 2018. I think it cost us $125.00. When an uncle died 15 years ago it was not suggested, but now fraudsters are targeting the recently dead and racking up credit cards in their name while an estate is in probate. If the credit bureau has proof that a person is dead, then credit cards should not be issued by any company.

If you report to the dead person's card companies that Uncle Joe has died, it does not tell all the credit card companies that he is dead. Reporting it to the credit bureau does this.

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Probably the disgusting creatures that do this are getting names from something as simple as picking up a newspaper and reading death notices. And while it is necessary to do, at the same time you'd think if someone does cancel credit cards that itself would show up on a credit report...but who knows. Living...and dying...has become very complicated.

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If you look at the statute in your state, they'll have a list of all those you must notify as the Executor or Administrator. Often the Estates office has an online brochure that tells you what to do.

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So new accounts are not opened up in the dead person’s name. The death certificate means a malicious person can’t declare you dead and wreck your credit if you are not dead.

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Notification of death to credit bureaus; why must this be done?

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