Mary Anne e-mailed, after reading my last column about estate debts, asking how to stop incessant collection efforts by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Her brother died four years ago with nothing of assets and a debt owing to the CRA.
I鈥檓 guessing the CRA found out she was brother鈥檚 executor when she applied for the CPP death benefit to help pay for the funeral. She鈥檚 been receiving collection notices ever since.
Her nephew (deceased brother鈥檚 son) has also been getting collection notices.
I shared in my last column that an executor has no obligation to look after an estate. You can leave it be. Being named executor does not impose any obligation to engage in an estate and pay estate debts.
The deceased brother鈥檚 next of kin, i.e. his son, has no obligation to pay estate debts either. We don鈥檛 inherit debt.
The CRA has had no legal basis to pursue payment of the debt from Mary Anne or her nephew, but that hasn鈥檛 stopped them from sending four years of collection notices to each of them.
What a sad reminder of the loss of your brother, or of your dad: getting collection notices in the mail.
Want the collection notices to stop?
There鈥檚 a piece of legislation in British Columbia that you can use to stop being harassed by creditors.
It can be used by Mary Anne to stop the CRA from continuing to bother her for debts she has no responsibility for.
It can also be used if you do owe money, to stop creditors and collection agents from bothering you.
Check out section 116 of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act which is linked here ().
You can stop debt collectors in their tracks from bothersome telephone calls with section 116(4)(a), which requires a debt collector to communicate with you only in writing if you have told them to.
The subsection reads: 鈥淎 collector must not continue to communicate with a debtor except in writing, if the debtor has notified the collector to communicate in writing only, and has provided a mailing address at which the debtor may be contacted鈥�.
You can put a full stop to all communication from a debt collector with section 116(4)(c) if you tell them that the debt is in dispute and that you would like them to take the matter to court.
That subsection reads: 鈥淎 collector must not continue to communicate with a debtor if the debtor has notified the collector that the debt is in dispute and that the debtor would like the creditor to take the matter to court鈥�.
You most certainly wouldn鈥檛 鈥渓ike鈥� to be taken to court! But if they haven鈥檛 sued you yet, it鈥檚 incredibly unlikely that telling them to pound sand will lead to that outcome.
A quick aside here. Has it been two years since your debt arose? The law in British Columbia is that if a creditor doesn鈥檛 sue you within 2 years of your debt being payabl, the debt automatically disappears.
If you make any payment on the debt, or confirm in writing that you owe the money, that 2-year clock will restart so be careful.
It costs money and time to sue someone to collect a debt. What creditor will want to throw good money after bad?
They know that ending up with a court judgment that says that you owe money doesn鈥檛 automatically pull money out of your bank account.
It then takes more money and time to go through legal processes to legally force that money out of you.
And you can鈥檛 get blood out of a stone. A judge is going to look at your monthly income and expenses before ordering you to make a reasonable monthly payment. A judge will not order you to make a payment that you cannot reasonably afford.
To top it all off, debt collectors know that at any step in the process you might eliminate the debt by accessing bankruptcy.
I am not an advocate for shirking financial responsibilities. I am passionate, though, about underdog debtors learning about and exercising their legal rights.
We are encouraged at every turn to incur debt in our society. It is easy to slip into circumstances where debt gets to a level where it鈥檚 difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
I offered a referral to a debt consolidation consultant last week, and I extend that offer again. Contact me directly and I鈥檒l refer you.
Once again, I have done my best to share complex legal information in an understandable way. My column cannot be relied on as legal advice because the law takes all sorts of twists and turns and a lawyer must be fully informed of your particular circumstances in order to properly advise you.
I welcome e-mails (paul@hlaw.ca) about end-of-life topics that would interest you. Please don鈥檛 hesitate to reach out.
Paul Hergott
Lawyer Paul Hergott began writing as a columnist in January 2007. Achieving Justice, based on Paul鈥檚 personal injury practice at the time, focused on injury claims and road safety. It was published weekly for 13 陆 years until July 2020, when his busy legal practice no longer left time for writing.
Paul was able to pick up writing again in January 2024, After transitioning his practice to estate administration and management.
Paul鈥檚 intention is to write primarily about end of life and estate related matters, but he is very easily distracted by other topics.
You are encouraged to contact Paul directly at paul@hlaw.ca with legal questions and issues you would like him to write about.
