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Floralscent Asked September 2018

Should I contact the big 3 credit bureaus after the death of my parents?

Both Mom and Dad have passed away within the last year. I have contacted creditors and am working through that whole ordeal. It just occurred to me that I should probably notify credit bureaus as well so credit cards or loans aren't opened using my parents credit. Has anyone taken on the task of notifying the big 3 credit bureaus and if so how did you handle doing so?


I ask because I want to avoid sharing my phone number or too much of my personal information to help prevent me from being contacted. My cell number is my only number and I don't want to be getting a ton of strange calls from creditors, etc. simply for sharing my information with the bureaus. I should mention that I am named executor.


Thank you so much-

Sendhelp Sep 2018
If you can use parent's home phone still, you can phone in and push automated buttons
to: 1) freeze credit for 90 days until you can send the death certificate, gives you time. Tell one, they report to the others.
2) Requeat credit reports. Get a report from each credit reporting agency.

Excellent idea, and good thinking Floralscent.

worriedinCali Sep 2018
We didn’t notify the credit agencies of my MILs death 3.5 months ago and they were somehow notified. I have been checking her credit monthly to make sure her partner hasn’t been using any of her cards and as of this month, there’s a “deceased” alert on her credit.

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anonymous839718 Sep 2018
Definitely notify all three in writing with a copy of the death certificate. Also check your own credit regularly. Someone may have obtained your name and address via funeral home, florist, hospital, ambulance service. Even though hospitals, etc are supposed to be confidential, one still cannot be certain who has had access to their information.

MountainMoose Sep 2018
I sent a death certificate and a cover letter about my stepdad's death a few years ago, and then this year another package of my mom's, to Equifax only. That agency reported that information to other credit bureaus. In the cover letter, I included my address and email, but not my phone number.

From my research, depending upon the person's financial holdings, the banks may notify the credit agencies if that person has a loan. Both my folks were debt-free, so I made sure their credit was protected. I figured it was the last thing I could do for them.

The cover letter was from me (my address and email) to Experian. I wrote for them to flag my mother's credit report that she had passed on X date and to notify the other credit agencies. I included information of her identification, such as her birth date, her Social Security number, her address and how long she'd lived there. (In your case, you can state you are their executors and are acting on behalf of their estates.) I signed it and included the death certificate. Too easy.

MargaretMcKen Sep 2018
You could also use a snail mail letter, and provide only your parents' details, not your own.

BarbBrooklyn Sep 2018
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/how-to-prevent-id-theft-after-death-1282.php

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