Father has fallen ill and fell behind on payments

Anonymous · ‎02-10-2016

Hey everyone,

Recently my father's health has been deteriorating. This has been due to being in and out of the hospital and eventually being diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Unfortunately I had no idea how long this had been going on till I started going through his bills and receiving past due notices. Luckily most of his cards were on autopay, but his Bank of America and Capital One cards weren't and he got a 30 derogatory on 3 of them.

What are my chances of getting these 3 lenders to lift their derogatory marks and what's the best way of going about this?

Anonymous · ‎02-10-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
Hey everyone,

Recently my father's health has been deteriorating. This has been due to being in and out of the hospital and eventually being diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Unfortunately I had no idea how long this had been going on till I started going through his bills and receiving past due notices. Luckily most of his cards were on autopay, but his Bank of America and Capital One cards weren't and he got a 30 derogatory on 3 of them.

What are my chances of getting these 3 lenders to lift their derogatory marks and what's the best way of going about this?

I mean this respectfully: the last thing you should focus energy on are a couple 30 day lates on his CR's. The average life expectancy after diagnosis is 8-10 years, where in some cases as few as 3 years and others as long as 20 years. Certainly you want to maintain sound financial matters for your Dad but unless he has a signed POA (Power of Attorney) there is not much you can do.

If he doesn't have a POA then he needs to ASAP. I would personally put all your energies towards making sure he has the best quality of life possible, at that stage of life our parents are not seeking credit, they are seeking peace when diagnosed wtih such a hideous disease.

God bless FTA, you are in a tough place that is only going to get tougher and tougher. Savor as much quality time as you can, down the road as the disease progresses you will understand why.

EDIT: Mean to add, if your Mom is still with him then she could work on the 30 day lates. Otherwise I stand by my statements about focusing on elsewhere and keep it focused on your Dad.

IOBA · ‎02-10-2016

It's sad that your dad has been ill.

Be super careful about letting his creditors know that he had Alzheimer's. They may choose to close his accounts.

I suggest putting the BA and the Cap 1 card on auto pay. And anything other bills that aren't already on autopay. The lates won't affect him personally too much, unless he's applying for credit. Maybe at this stage in his life, he shouldn't be applying for credit.

As the previous poster suggested, make sure there is a POA (Power of Attorney). Go a step or two further, make sure a will has been made and there is a health directive. Ask your dad now (while he is still in the present mentally) what his wishes are for his estate, his affairs, and his body. Does he want to be cremated? Donate his organs? Etc.

You are in a tough place right now. Please try to get these things done (POA, Health Directive, Will, all bills on autopay, etc.)

Hang in there.

Anonymous · ‎02-10-2016

@IOBA wrote:
It's sad that your dad has been ill.

Be super careful about letting his creditors know that he had Alzheimer's. They may choose to close his accounts.

I suggest putting the BA and the Cap 1 card on auto pay. And anything other bills that aren't already on autopay. The lates won't affect him personally too much, unless he's applying for credit. Maybe at this stage in his life, he shouldn't be applying for credit.

As the previous poster suggested, make sure there is a POA (Power of Attorney). Go a step or two further, make sure a will has been made and there is a health directive. Ask your dad now (while he is still in the present mentally) what his wishes are for his estate, his affairs, and his body. Does he want to be cremated? Donate his organs? Etc.

You are in a tough place right now. Please try to get these things done (POA, Health Directive, Will, all bills on autopay, etc.)
Hang in there.

All of this is very sound. Also, there is not an easy way to ask/inquire but you really need to know the status of ALL your Dad's financial situaton. Matters such as still having a mortgage, possibility of car payments, whomever he uses for home and car insurance, life insurance policies, and stock/retirement holdings for sure.

In regards to the POA you will also need to handle the medical POA as well, also if he wants an DNR (Do Not Resuscitate). I'm not trying to be so dark here but it will take a considerable load off your shoulders for down the road as his disease progresses. Even if he is of a strong mind today you really need to get this stuff done ASAP because there are NO timetables with neuro diseases such as Alzheimer's.

I realize I have gone 100% away from credit matters here with my responses but to me this is where you should focus.

IOBA · ‎02-10-2016

Ah - just thought of something else.

Put a freeze on all three of your dad's credit reports.

I just had a flashback about my elderly aunt making big purchases (like cars). Her sister and her son would be upset about it. I don't know if my aunt had any medical issues or not. Sometimes people get ideas in their heads and wont' let it go.

By freezing your dad's credit reports, maybe that will give you & everyone else a peace of mind. Won't have to worry if dad went out and bought a new car or not!

Anonymous · ‎02-10-2016

I appreciate all the suggestions. My mom is still very much healthy and is currently taking care of my father. She doesn't know much about the financial aspect of everything which is why it's fallen on me.

I already have POA for both of my parents set up but it doesn't effect lines of credit from what I've been told by a BofA Representative. I've also taken over paying all his bills and I'm doing everything I can to make him comfortable.

The reason his credit is important right now is that I'm looking to downsize his home. He's told me he's no longer comfortable living there and I wanted to get him another smaller home. His mental disease is only in the early stages so beyond some forgetfulness he's still capable of making decisions and this is one he wants done.

IOBA · ‎02-10-2016

Other than the two lates, how is your's dad's financial health?

Does he and mom have enough equity in current house to sell and to pay cash for a smaller place?

Does your POA state that a photocopy works as the original?

Could you get the mortgage just in your name and have your parents pay "rent" that is equal to the mortgage?

Anonymous · ‎02-10-2016

Unfortunately my current debt to income ratio won't support a mortgage under my name alone. I would require to have him as a co-signer to have his Social Security supplement the income. They have some equity in the house, but not enough to pay for a new one out right. I have original copies of the POA with me.

Anonymous · ‎02-10-2016

I just skimmed through the thread, FeedTheAddiction, and it doesn't look like anyone has answered your question yet (although I may have just missed it).

There have been reports here on the myFICO forums of Capital One removing late payments. It seems like most of those are late payments that were some time ago with regular on-time payments since. So it's hard to say how receptive they'll be to your particular situation. But it's possible. I would be careful though with what you tell them. As was mentioned above, they may get spooked and close the account completely.

Bank of America is almost certainly a "no." They address this on this page where they say:

If you have one late payment or some other negative mark on your credit report, you may have heard that a goodwill credit adjustment layer (or simply goodwill adjustment) can quickly fix bad credit. We’re required to report complete and accurate information, and that’s why we aren’t able to honor requests for goodwill adjustments. The best way to address negative credit history is to rebuild your credit by moving forward and establishing a solid history of on-time payments.

Sorry that's not more encouraging, and I'm sorry for your father's illness.

Anonymous · ‎02-10-2016

Thank you for the answer Plip. If I can't get the derogatories removed from Bank of American then I don't think getting CapOne to remove them is worth the hassle. Besides trying to get this mortgage sorted he has no further use for his credit so I'll just leave it as is.