FTC Proposes Policy Statement Clarifying How to Collect Decedents' Debts
"The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a proposed policy statement clarifying when the FTC will take action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the FTC Act against companies trying to collect the debts of deceased consumers.

In collecting these debts, the FDCPA generally allows collectors to contact only the decedent’s spouse, or the executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate. Since the FDCPA was enacted in 1977, state probate laws have expanded the types of persons who are authorized to pay a decedent’s debts from assets in the decedent’s estate, beyond the categories expressly permitted under the FDCPA. In the proposed enforcement policy statement issued today for public comment, the Commission seeks to reconcile the FDCPA’s requirements with state probate law developments..."