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I hosted our first collections workshop this week with ​@BriannaL, and we had an intriguing question: How do you collect from someone who has passed on?

I did a little research, and we've learned this. Reminder: we are NOT lawyers.

Context: Estates are handled by the probate process, which is handled at the county level.

  1. Contact the Probate Court/Clerk of Court:
  • Reach out to the Probate Court or the Clerk of the Circuit Court in that county. You can request information about the probate case associated with the deceased.
    • Many counties offer online case lookup tools that allow you to search for probate records using the deceased person's name. The case file should list the executor or personal representative in charge of the estate. Example: Here is a link to Lee County's case lookup
  1. Review Public Probate Records:
  • Once you locate the probate case, review the publicly available documents. These records typically include the name and contact information (or at least the registered attorney's contact) for the estate's executor or personal representative.
  1. Send proof of outstanding invoices:
  • This is where Skimmer comes in handy. In addition to the outstanding invoices, service reports can be exported to PDF.
  1. Consult with a Probate Attorney:
  • Consider consulting a probate attorney if you have difficulty obtaining the information or if the matter is complex. They can guide you through the legal process for contacting the estate and ensure any outstanding obligations are correctly handled.

Of course - Step 4 is when you want to consider cutting your losses. Attorneys are not inexpensive. If your customer owes you hundreds of dollars, it's unfortunately likely to be more expensive to pursue collections. If your customers owe you thousands, it might be on the table.

If you service the elderly, and you've been in this position before - it's all the more important to ensure they have a valid payment method on file and, of course, spend a little extra time with them to chat when you service their pool. 

If you've had experience with this situation, please share your learning with us 👇

 

We had this situation last year, and the easiest way to say you need to “know your customer” is just that.  We really didn’t know this customer that well, but when the cleaning bills got behind 2 months and she had a needed repair, we began in earnest looking for the reason.  She had always paid the repair bills quickly, and we had done many requested repairs early on to get her pool back in shape (she had let it get run down quite a bit).  So being behind a couple of months was somewhat unusual for this account. 

We knew a little of her background, and found her business (car dealerships) a hundred miles or so away in a large metropolitan city.  Researched the dealerships website on the “about us” pages and found all the answers we needed.  We then contacted one of the children (most of the family worked at the “family of dealerships”) and verified what we had heard rumors of.  We found out her account had been closed for security and that was what we auto drafted from, so that was why the delayed payment.

We then worked out a new deal with the family to maintain the pool and keep it looking good until they can get the house sold.  It worked out as best as it could for a bad situation.  We still maintain the pool, and any repairs are pre-authorized so we make sure to keep it looking ready to sell, like their cars...

Bottom line, I guess keeping track on the collections, and researching your customer so you don’t get too far along with the past dues is key.  The family was understanding and appreciative of us working with them and keeping things looking good for their mother and the home, and so that’s a way to ease the burden of “you owe us money, pay up” I think.  Sometimes a fine line you have to walk I suppose.

​@rharris507 thank you for sharing - really interesting story and a great example of working something out that behooves all parties at the table! Good will and good work goes a long way.

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