Deceased parent stole my identity help (car insurance, credit card, bill)

[brysonsmith88]

Hi! My mother passed away last christmas eve. The incident of her stealing my identity occurred in 2007. I wasnt aware of it till i started receiving bill for it about a year or so later. She purchased a bowflex so i immediately knew what had happened. When i confronted her she said she was paying on it to help my credit. Well long story short she didnt. Well years passed i received numerous bill collectors calling me. I contemplated just filing a police report. Well my mother had attempted to commit suicide in 2009 and knowing she was still unstable and would likely attempt it again if i would press charges on her i left it alone. Still bill after bill i didnt know what to do. I couldnt afford the terms that the bill collector would attempt to make. So to get the point she passed away there is just my brother and i. She didnt have asingle item to her name or anything to be passed down at least not anything with any monetary value. So ive been thinking about filing a police report and notifying them that my identity had been stolen by my mother. So my question is if i follow through with it being that im considered the "heir" would said bill that im attempting to get knocked off on identity theft just be pushed back on me being that she she has passed? Any help would be much appreciated! Ive lost alot of sleep over this and not to mention the countless credit cards ive been denied and the ridiculous amount ive had to pay on a monthly basis to just have liability car insurance that i get taxed on because my ****ty credit even with a perfect driving record. Just looking for some help one way or the other! Thanks!

[Hollytree]

Sorry to hear that but know that you're not the first this has happened to. I'm sure there's a lot of credit card fraud within families. Perhaps you could start by writing a letter to the credit card company, explaining the situation and offering to settle the debt. A bow flex is- what a couple thousand?- surely you could pay that off- or hopefully a lesser amount- totally. Then you'll have to set about repairing your credit by making payments on time over a period of time. Not much else to do since you can't prove anything. If your family has not been supportive, you're just going to have to achieve on your own. Is your brother willing to help at all?