Do I need POA to cancel the family phone plan my deceased mother had?

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Do I need POA to cancel the family phone plan my deceased mother had?

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I'm at a lose for words. Either mom didn't know she was paying this plan, how could she not it was on her statement every month? Dad isn't using the cellphone, never did he can't hear. So it's still coming out as a direct payment. How do I cancel it?

End of Life Forms & Documents Power of Attorney (POA)

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Have husband sound like dad on the phone and deal with it that way. Hold his nose and put ear plugs in, he'll get it dealt with;-) Nobody will be the wiser.

Its not like you are trying to get a loan, so nothing wrong with stopping fraudulent payments using your imagination.

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Reply to Isthisrealyreal

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I so wanted to do this, but I messed up and said he wasn't here.
Ttomorrow I will call on his closed caption.
Because , stupidity, by following their rules, I have to send POA before I can cancel this card.
I just want the fraud to stop

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So, my husband thinks, after looking at the statement and not seeing any phone bills.. that this isn't a telephone payment . It's telapay which means "someone" is using her card to use for their own use.
Im in the process of canceling her card... this is SO hard to do with a deaf father, but tomorrow I'll call from his closed caption phone.
HOW CAN PEOPLE USE THEIR ELDERLY PARENTS IN THIS WAY?
I have no words... this is certainly affecting my health, my crohn's is acting up again.
All my friends tell me that I'm trying to devour this elephant, to take one bite at a time.
WHY do I feel that I have to solve all these problems yesterday?

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Reply to Kwiemer

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You ask the bank if they can stop the payment. Then you call the company tell them Mom has passed and ask what they need to close the acct. I doubt if Mom put Dad on the acct if deaf. My husband isn't. I think in any contract, death ends the contract. But the estate will owe the minutes used.

For members that's parents use cells, I have used Tracfone for years and so has my daughter. Its pay as u go. If you don't put minutes on the phone it won't work. Good way to budget. I think its $25 for 500 minutes that need to be used in 60 days and then refilled. If you use up the 500 minutes before 60 days, you just refill. They have plans for a year. That way, if a person passes, no contract. You just use up any minutes and thats it.

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Reply to JoAnn29

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If she got a “ free cellphone “ on this plan and your father’s name is on it too, It may not be possible to cancel until all the payments are made .

My FIL with dementia insisted on a new cell phone after not using one for a year . DH had canceled his Dad’s plan . But FIL was insisting so DH gave in to shut him up and got him a “ free phone “ by adding another phone to our plan . Of course he never used it and he died . We are stuck paying it every month for two years after his death until the original end date of the plan . It’s cheaper than buying the phone outright and canceling the plan .

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Reply to waytomisery

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A POA ends with your mother's death, so you definitely don't want that. POA doesn't act for a dead person. Only the Executor (listed on will) or the Administrator (assigned by court to manage probate in the absence of a will).

You CAN get her credit cards cancelled by a simple call regarding her death to her credit cards as part of your POA duty. They will also freeze her credit so others cannot use it. This info usually comes to them directly when SS if notified of death through the funeral home. But call to be certain. Whether you call Transunion, Experian or Equifax, the one almost always notifies the other two.

If this is a bank account giving automatic payment that account can be frozen until the EXECUTOR takes over with a new EIN on the account unless the account also belongs to your father. If Mother and Father are on the account then the father would own the account and still be liable for family plan if he is a member listed as part of the family.
If it was being paid by ONLY mother then the executor will notify the company of her death.
I don't know what you mean by family. If father is a survivor, is on these accounts, and is listed as a user of this "family plan" then this becomes much more difficult and you will talk with the phone company about how to do this.

Who will manage your mother's estate after her death is the important question here. They will do cancelling of such things.

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Reply to AlvaDeer

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Im POA for dad now, signed the papers today.

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My mother had an AT&T landline. When she passed, I called them and told them to disconnect her line, that she was deceased. They said ok but she'd have to pay next month's bill bc it had already generated. I said "good luck getting payment from a dead woman". They hounded me for awhile, then I heard nothing further. Ridiculous.

Call the bank and tell them to stop paying these monthly cell phone charges. You may have to pay a $30 stop payment fee, it depends. THEN call the cell phone company and tell them mom has passed and to cancel the phone service. One way or another, the bill won't get paid, done and done 😁

Good luck!

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Reply to lealonnie1

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No, this is the job of the Executor of the Will. PoA ends at the moment of death for the agent/principle.

You may have to provide an original copy of her death certificate (even if you're not the Executor). It varies depending upon the business or vendor. Call their customer service for that phone carrier and ask what they require. Since the death certificate has a date on it, you may be able to get it refunded, but it might only go to an account that had her name on it. Again, it depends on the business.

Is your Dad's name on the plan as well? Your profile says he is alive and still of sound mind. If he's still on the plan you may be able to call customer service and put him on speaker phone to cancel the plan.

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Reply to Geaton777

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I would call them, and tell them, they will probably need a death certificate.

So sorry about your mom.

Good luck with that, they don't make it easy to cancel things

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Reply to Anxietynacy

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Do I need POA to cancel the family phone plan my deceased mother had?

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