Probate Finder on Demand Newsletter, January 2023
DCM Services Moves into State-of-the-Art Office Headquarters
DCM Services has recently moved into a new office headquarters at The BLOC, located at 1550 American Boulevard E, Suite 200 in Bloomington, MN. DCM Services has seen exciting growth in recent years and the new office site offers the setting necessary for further developing employees, better servicing clients, and facilitating future growth.
Generational changes brought on by the pandemic
DCM Services Announces Membership with Telecommunications Risk Management Association (TRMA)
Minneapolis, Minn. — (November 4, 2021) —DCM Services, LLC (“DCMS”), the industry leader in data and contact management solutions for the estate and specialty receivables recovery market, has become the newest business affiliate member of the Telecommunications Risk Management Association (“TRMA”). This new partnership will be mutually beneficial, allowing both organizations to share best practices, benchmarking data, and other relevant information to elevate the industry.
DCMS brings a wealth of industry and operational experience in the telecommunications industry and looks forward to working closely with TRMA to share this expertise. Subsequently, TRMA is able to provide the networking forums and tools necessary to disseminate relevant information to its diverse member base.
Senior Vice President of Business Development, Tiffany Jansen said, “DCMS is ecstatic to become members of the TRMA community. We look forward to learning even more about best practices in this industry and are eager to share our in-depth knowledge about the specialty receivables space, something we feel is very unique that we can bring to the TRMA table. The benchmarking activity, conferences and networking will be invaluable to us as we move into 2022.”
TRMA is an industry forum for risk management professionals from the Telecommunications, Pay TV, Utility, Waste Management and other industries to collaborate, understand, and share best practices related to acquisition risk management, customer lifecycle and uncollectible debt issues among its members. TRMA has served as a professional resource devoted to industry leaders from member companies. TRMA’s diverse organization serves as a forum for communication and utility-based risk management professionals while creating a community for members to share best practices, access tools and benchmarking data relevant to the dynamic industry, and balance risk.
Executive Director of TRMA, Jose Segarra said, “We are very excited to have DCM Services as our Business Affiliate member. As a Business Affiliate, DCM Services will collaborate with TRMA throughout the year. As this relationship grows, I look forward to learning from their expertise and welcoming them to our spring meeting in 2022.”
Learn more about DCM Services and TRMA online.
About TRMA
TRMA is a professional resource that is sought by industry leaders. It is a growing, diverse, and global organization that delivers quality information forums and strategies relevant to our members’ changing and dynamic industries. The mission of TRMA is to promote cooperation within the Telecommunications, Pay TV, Utility, Waste Management and other industries to effectively balance risk while reducing fraud and uncollectibles for the benefit of our industry and paying customers.
About DCM Services
Minneapolis-based DCM Services is the industry leader in providing estate and specialty services, including bankruptcy and probate claim filing solutions. DCMS’ diverse client base includes 9 of the top 11 financial services institutions, more than half of the nation’s largest and most prestigious healthcare systems, and organizations spanning the telecom, retail, and auto industries. Its recovery solutions offer a full range of services from proprietary web-based solutions to full outsourcing, maintaining an unmatched spectrum of innovative solutions that increase recoveries, protect brand value, and enhance survivor relationships – with respect and sensitivity. For more information on all DCM Services’ offerings, please visit www.dcmservices.com.
Media Contacts:
Robbie Ware
DCM Services
Jose Segarra
TRMA
The CMS Compliance requirement every healthcare provider should know
Ten years ago, DCM Services conducted an informal survey of more than 100 health systems and other providers in an effort to understand current practices in the management of decedent accounts. At that time, almost 85% of survey respondents indicated that they did not search for probate estates, nor did they file claims. Survey respondents also acknowledged that they knew there was opportunity to enhance compliance and gain substantial revenue by creating an effective estate strategy but noted that they lacked the expertise and resources.
DCM Services enhances DCMS ServiceLink™ with Chat Functionality and Quick Pay feature
DCM Services, LLC (DCMS) the industry leader in estate and specialty account recovery solutions, has launched a new Quick Pay feature within DCMS ServiceLink™. We are also pleased to announce the official launch of chat functionality within DCMS ServiceLink. Clients who are eligible will have the option to allow online chat between their consumers and DCMS account representatives.
The estate recovery secret ingredient for auto portfolios
Written by Chris Stanley, Director of Business Development
When I go out to eat at a restaurant, often I’m there because of how the restaurant prepares food in its own way, what some may call the “secret sauce.” For example, the special sauce at a fried chicken joint. The proprietary ingredient takes ordinary fried chicken to uniquely delicious fowl. It may come as a surprise to know that the secret ingredient in an effective auto estate recoveries strategy is not optimization, but education.
Preparing your recovery process
When examining an estate recovery strategy for auto portfolios, there are many processes that align across DCM Services (DCMS) auto, credit card, banking, credit union, and telecom clients. We know that locating and filing on every probate estate is the most compliant and survivor-centric method to recovering on estate accounts and is the cornerstone of DCMS’ recovery strategy for all clients. It is a court-driven process with expected outcomes for the creditor, vendor, and estate. Through 20-plus years of working with the nation’s top auto lenders, we have learned that probate estates can liquidate up to seven times higher than non-probated estate accounts in the auto vertical. In addition to the compliance and survivor-centric benefits, this process provides the best return for our clients.
DCMS has also found value in scoring inventory to ensure our work efforts are devoted to the accounts with the greatest likelihood to pay. This does not mean that additional inventory is ignored; it simply means that work efforts are prioritized to accounts with a higher propensity to pay, subsequently minimizing complaints by not overworking inventory. It truly is a work smarter, not harder strategy. While effective estate location and scoring models are important, the differentiating factor is neither of these.
The secret ingredient? Education.
It may come as a surprise to know that education is the most important aspect of an effective recovery strategy for auto accounts, especially deficiency balance accounts. Auto accounts contain more complexity than a credit card or telecom account. In order to understand this, it is critical to remember that approximately 30% of all probate estates will be managed by a Personal Representative and not an attorney. Nearly all non-probate estate accounts will be managed by a family member.
These individuals are most likely going through the probate process for the very first time. Understandably, they are typically unfamiliar with the intricacies of the estate lifecycle, terminology, legal implications, and the flood of information as part of handling the decedent’s affairs. Because of the additional steps necessary to handle secured accounts internally at our client, this adds additional processes (repossession, voluntary surrender, assumption, etc.) to the estate recovery timeline.
As part of DCM Services’ partnership with many top auto lenders, educating personal representatives and individuals handling the decedent affairs is critical to minimizing complaints and maximizing recoveries. While DCMS does not provide legal advice, our Operations Teams and Account Representatives ensure each person we work with understands the next steps and possible situations that may arise in the future, while providing context for what has happened in the past. This can range from DCM Services’ intention to file a claim should a probate estate open or explaining how our client arrived at the deficiency balance that remains on an account.
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Education is also critical at the partnership level. One of the most common questions DCMS receives from the family or personal representative is not understanding how the account came to our office. This can happen on first contact, when the personal representative receives a letter pertaining to the account, or when DCM Services files a claim against the probate estate. Often times, they believe that because the secured collateral was returned to the lender, no balance remains and therefore, any additional steps that occur may come as a surprise. Many of DCM Services’ partners work hard to ensure the estate account lifecycle is communicated at the point of notification but it takes time for an account to move from the point of notification through internal processes and ultimately to DCM Services.
DCM Services’ highest priority is to provide our clients with a productive stream of estate recovery liquidations while ensuring a positive consumer experience. Outside of DCMS strategies and the hard work of our Operations team, this is accomplished through transparent communication and setting expectations for the process. It starts with our clients at the point of notification and ends with DCMS up to the point of resolution. The importance of education and communication of the probate processes cannot be understated.
Ready to make education a cornerstone of your recovery strategy? Schedule a 30-minute meeting to discuss the unique obstacles and opportunities of your current processes here →
PSCU’s TriVerity™ (CU Recovery) Announces Partnership with DCM Services
TriVerity™ (formerly CU Recovery), a PSCU company, announced it has partnered with DCM Services, LLC (“DCMS”), the industry leader in data and contact management solutions for the estate and specialty receivables recovery market. The partnership will benefit credit unions across the nation as the two organizations combine their expertise in the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry.
Interview with a Probate Attorney
By Matt Rehnelt, Business Development Manager
In the probate and estate recoveries industries there are two distinct perspectives: that of the estate and that of the creditor. DCM Services has been well-versed in handling matters from the creditor’s perspective for more than 20 years, working with 25 of the top 100 auto lenders in the U.S. Throughout my career, I have found it extremely beneficial to thoroughly understand each point of view to achieve the best possible outcome.
Recently, I spoke with a local probate attorney to learn about the most common questions they hear from their clients on a regular basis, as well as how they would advise the estate to proceed. The answers I received were enlightening.
Q: If a family member recently passed away and has a car loan in their name only, can you continue to make the car payment until the vehicle is paid off?
A: The lender is probably within their rights to force a change. However, there are other issues – for example, you may need to register the vehicle and you may only be able to do that if you pay off the loan.
Insurance may also be a problem. If the vehicle is insured in the decedent's name, then the insurance company will balk at paying if there is a future claim. If and when the loan is repaid, the lender will issue a release to the decedent. How this release would apply to the new owner is also questionable.
If you can get around these items, then the main concern may be getting the vehicle retitled. If there is no probate estate and if the person in question is an heir, there is a simplified process. However, if probate is necessary, the auto loan will then need to be considered an asset of the estate before being transferred.
Q: So, what happens to that loan once it is considered an asset of the probated estate?
A: In most cases, a creditor is within their rights to file a claim against the probate estate. This will allow the remaining balance owed to be recognized against any of the assets in the probate estate. Before the probate estate can be formally closed, all creditors that had filed claims would need to be addressed in the correct order.
Q: That brings up a good point. Knowing whether the estate is going to have enough funds to resolve the debt is a huge time saver, because that ultimately lets a creditor know if they are getting a settlement in full, pro-rata, or nothing at all. What is your process of notifying creditors when there are not enough funds to resolve claims?
A: Well, most attorneys I know have a pretty similar process. The Personal Representative must look at the claims that have been filed and determine which debts get paid first. Under many state laws, there is a specific order in which the debts must be paid:
Priority of claims
Costs and expenses of administering the estate, including attorney’s fees.
Reasonable funeral expenses will be paid.
Any debt that has preference under Federal law, including for example, Federal taxes.
Expenses for medical costs or hospital stays for the decedent’s final illness and/or secure debts (i.e., boat loans, auto loans, etc.).
Expenses for medical costs or hospital expenses incurred during the year before death.
Any debts under federal law, such as state taxes, and last, any other unsecured debt. The personal representative pays the debts in this order, not in the order in which the claims are received.
Once the assets of the estate run out, then the debts that are further down the priority list will simply not be paid or will need to be pro-rated based on remaining funds.
In the event the estate is insolvent, or unable to pay creditors, we will typically work with the Personal Representative to prepare an itemized inventory of all of the debts and assets. Ultimately, this provides the creditor with some form of documentation showing the estate truly does not have the funds to resolve their claim. Typically, this documentation is not sent to creditors unless requested because of the extra charges brought upon an estate that is already lacking funds.
Q: Interesting. My last question is a bit of a tough one. Do attorneys ever “bend the truth” to make it look like the estate does not have funds to pay claims?
A: I do not want to speak on behalf of all legal counsel in the United States, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. I think that ultimately, a Personal Representative retains an attorney to represent the estate for a couple reasons; the first is due to the nature of probate, it can be a time intensive process. Personal Representatives negotiating on their own means less time with their family and more than likely taking time off of work.
The second reason is that attorneys can typically save a good portion of funds for the estate by either negotiating debts down, accepting settlements, and/or taking advantage of other state statutes that legally allow heirs to receive certain funds prior to creditors, such as homestead laws or administration fees.
Ultimately, probate proceedings can take up to a year or two, the assets are typically "frozen" until the courts decide on the distribution of the property. Probate can easily cost between 3% and 7% or more of the total estate value. If the estate does have liquid assets available, it sometimes in the best interest of all parties to resolve the estate in a timely manner.
Q: I appreciate you talking with me today and agreeing to be part of my new series “Interviews with a Probate Attorney”. Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: My biggest suggestion for individuals who are looking to retain an attorney to assist in probate, setting up a trust, transfer on death [deeds or accounts], or any other matter, is to choose someone that they feel comfortable with and share the same values and ethics. Having a certain level of trust, creates peace of mind and makes the entire process that much easier.
The contents of this article are not intended as legal advice. This article is intended only for general informational purposes. If you have any questions, please consult with your legal counsel.
About the author
Spending a majority of his career working within the financial services and healthcare industries, Matt has worked with DCMS since 2010. Matt works hand-in-hand with organizations to create and enhance their estate recovery process. Matt graduated from Metropolitan State University with his Bachelors in Business
Administration.
