Phillips & Cohen Associates believes collecting on accounts associated with someone who is deceased can be complicated following significant regulatory changes made by the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year.

So the firm’s experts are conducting a free Webinar titled, “Deceased Debt Collection: How the Recent FTC Ruling Impacts Your Collections Process.” The session is scheduled for Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. ET.

Founded in 1997, Phillips & Cohen Associates explained that it originally built its reputation for effective and compassionate financial recovery by pioneering deceased account care.

This Webinar is intended to explain the interpretation of the resulting FTC policy statement that addresses permissible individuals for contact, locating proper individuals for deceased account collection and identifying the person who has authority to pay the decedent’s debts, as well as practical steps to comply with the ruling and the effects of the ruling on deceased collections processes.

Organizers emphasized that any company that has a process in place for or which has any inventory of deceased accounts should join the Webinar.

Other scheduled topics include:

—Interpretation of the ruling.
—How to comply with the ruling.
—What it means for deceased collections.

“Whether you have an internal deceased account collections program or outsource this function to a partner, it is of critical importance to ensure that you and/or your partner agency understand the recent FTC ruling regarding deceased collections and have implemented the steps necessary to comply,” Phillips & Cohen officials stressed.

"Fundamentally, we all know that compliance,  compassion and sensitivity must be at the core of any deceased collections process, but the key to having a comprehensive and compliant program is having up-to-date knowledge and proper application of related regulations,” they continued.

“As you are likely aware, in 2009 the FTC began an industry wide investigation of collection activity surrounding the debts owed at the time of death of an individual. During this review, they evaluated all aspects of the collection process including practices such as contacting family members/relatives, discussing the decedent’s debt(s), sourcing payment, estate searching and filing processes and overall negotiation, conversation and collection practices in this arena,” they went on to say.

To register for the free Webinar, complete the online form here.