How to Beat Estate Information Services

April 24, 2024

How to Beat Estate Information Services

If Estate Information Services is pursuing your deceased relative’s debts, use ZumaZip to respond fast and win a debt collection lawsuit against you.

If you’ve experienced the death of a loved one, particularly a parent, spouse, or child, then you understand how devastating that loss can be. While you’re going through the grieving process, you still need to manage the necessary arrangements surrounding the person’s passing which adds even more stress to a difficult time.

Sadly, debt collectors rarely seem to understand the need for people to grieve after the death of a loved one. Indeed, there are countless cases of people receiving phone calls – sometimes very aggressive calls – from debt collectors who are seeking to collect on debts owed by the family member who just passed away.

One of those collectors could be from Estate Information Services. If you’ve received a call from someone at Estate Information Services recently, then you need to know how to deal with them.

In this article, we will take a look at what Estate Information Services is, what their primary debt collection business entails, and what you can do to beat them in court if they file a debt collection lawsuit against you.

Use ZumaZip to respond quickly about a debt collection lawsuit.

What Is Estate Information Services?

Estate Information Services is a debt collection agency, founded in 2000, with a principal place of business in Columbus, Ohio. Unlike many debt collection agencies, Estate Information Services appears to pride itself on being an “above board” collection agency that is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has been given an A+ rating by the BBB.

There are, as you would expect, many complaints about Estate Information Services’ collection tactics on the BBB website. However, the company makes a point to address every online complaint by providing facts surrounding the particular online complaint and asserting that they don’t violate the law.

While Estate Information Services handles debt collection in several areas, including credit card debt, bank debt, auto loan debt, and education debt, the primary focus of Estate Information Services is the collection of debt of those who are deceased. If you have had interaction with this company, the interaction would most likely be related to debts owed by a deceased relative.

Are You Liable for a Deceased Relative’s Debts?

Generally speaking, you are not required to satisfy the debts of a deceased family member unless you co-signed for that debt. When seeking satisfaction of a debt for someone who died, debt collectors should normally only attempt to get repayment of the debt from the assets of the deceased person’s estate.

In fact, with regard to calling the relative or friend of a loved one who just passed away, there are many rules – under the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and Federal Trade Commission guidelines – stating that debt collectors:

May only communicate with the deceased person’s spouse, parent, guardian, or executor of the deceased person’s estate;
Are only allowed to contact family members to locate the executor of the deceased person’s estate;
Are prohibited from making misleading statements in an attempt to convince a family member that they have some obligation to pay a deceased person’s debts;
Must tell family members that they are not required to pay the debt (unless that person co-signed for the debt);
May not contact family members or friends at inappropriate times or inconvenient places;
May not use threats of a lawsuit, negative credit reporting, or arrest to collect a debt; and
May not use obscene language in an attempt to collect.

Accordingly, if you keep getting harassing calls from Estate Information Services – but they have yet to file a lawsuit against you – you should be sure to keep any phone call short; you should be prepared to refer them to the executor of your loved one’s estate and you should leave it at that.

Use ZumaZip to file a counterclaim with your response.

You Can Beat Estate Information Services In Court

If Estate Planning Services goes from making harassing phone calls to filing a lawsuit against you, then the way you beat them in court is by showing up. Stated differently, you cannot and should not let Estate Information Services, or any debt collector lawsuit, intimidate you. You need to respond to anything Estate Information Services files in court.

Many debt collectors, Estate Information Services included, try to use strong-arm tactics and seemingly superior knowledge of the law to frighten you into submission. Doing that, however, will only result in a default judgment against you, meaning that Estate Information Services will win the lawsuit.

Stop a default judgment from being filed with ZumaZip.

So, rather than avoid a debt collection lawsuit, you need to make sure that you answer the lawsuit in the required amount of time (which typically is as short as 30 days). That means, when you get something in the mail stating that Estate Information Services has sued you in court, you need to:

1. File an Answer to the Lawsuit

You may not know the first thing about filing an Answer to a lawsuit – but that is where ZumaZip comes in to help you. Go to ZumaZip.com, answer a few questions on the site, and you will see how easy it is to file an Answer to an Estate Information Services suit in any state in the country.

2. Demand Proof That You Are Responsible

As noted above, you are generally not liable for the debts of a deceased relative. Thus, put Estate Information Services through its paces to prove that you owe a particular debt. Chances are, Estate Information Services will not be able to provide that proof.

3. Talk to an Attorney About a Possible Countersuit

Not only will you likely win any lawsuit against Estate Information Services – because you are generally not liable for a deceased relative’s debts – but Estate Information Services most likely violated the law when they contacted you or made harassing phone calls to you in the first place. Accordingly, with the help of ZumaZip, you can speak with a lawyer to see if you can counter-sue based on violations of the FDCPA or TCPA.

In summary, you shouldn’t let Estate Information Services hurt your credit score or cause you more stress at a time when you are dealing with the death of a loved one. Fight back with the help of ZumaZip.

What is ZumaZip?

ZumaZip is a convenient solution designed to streamline your response to a debt collection lawsuit. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect when you use ZumaZip:

Firstly, you’ll access our user-friendly web application, which guides you through the process step by step. You’ll be prompted to answer a series of questions related to your specific situation. Once you’ve completed the questionnaire, you have the option to either print out the finalized forms and mail them to the appropriate courts yourself, or you can opt to utilize ZumaZip’s services to file them on your behalf. Additionally, if you choose this option, an attorney will review your document for added peace of mind.

If you’re seeking guidance on how to effectively respond to a debt collection lawsuit, ZumaZip can provide the assistance you need. Feel free to explore our FAQs for more information on what ZumaZip has to offer.

What if I haven’t been sued yet?

If you’ve only received a collections notice, but not a lawsuit, the best way to respond is with a Debt Validation Letter. When a debt collector contacts you in any way, whether it’s by phone or mail, you can respond by formally requesting a debt validation with a Debt Validation Letter . This letter notifies the collector that you dispute the debt and forces them to provide proof you owe the debt. They can’t call you or continue collecting until they provide validation of the debt. This flowchart shows how you can use a Debt Validation Letter to win.

Get started with a Debt Validation Letter here.

How to Answer a Summons for debt collection in all 50 states

Here’s a list of guides on how to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in each state:

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