terminal illness and debt-Help!

casey

My dad has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and I have discovered that he has an £8000 debt. Obviously it is a difficult time and this is the last thing I want to be talking about with him, but I am concerned that when the time comes I may be responsible for paying it back.
He does not own his own property and has no savings.Can someone please offer some advice as to where I stand.
Many Thanks

annamc75

If there is no estate when he dies and you didnt co sign any of the debt with him then surely there is no chance that you would be expected to pay it (at least this is what logic dictates).
I am sure that if this advice is wrong then someone will be along soon to correct it.
If nothing else this post acts as a bump.

Anna

Thoughts with you and your family at this time.

KPanton

Personally I'd telephone either the CAB or the CCCS, the latter helped me no end, and I'm sure could give you a straight yes or no answer on this matter, I imagine you'll not be liable, anyways, so try not to worry about this too.

http://www.cccs.co.uk/

gettingbetter

Casey sorry to hear about your dad
does he have life insurance, my oh was terminally ill and had life insurance with critical illness cover.

Is worth having a word with your dad or looking through his paperwork, was just a thought

kas

barnaby-bear

casey wrote: »

My dad has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and I have discovered that he has an £8000 debt. Obviously it is a difficult time and this is the last thing I want to be talking about with him, but I am concerned that when the time comes I may be responsible for paying it back.
He does not own his own property and has no savings.Can someone please offer some advice as to where I stand.
Many Thanks

The debt will be the liability of the estate - if it has no value there's no one they can chase. Forget about it.

If your father is on a low income and has no savings you should focus your efforts on getting him all the care and extra benefits he is entitled to, to make his life easier and yours when caring for him - there are special rules and fast tracking for terminal illness
http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23069010/
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=4349
http://www.ifishoulddie.co.uk/terminal-life-threatening-illness-c40.html

CCCS_Matthew

Hi there Casey,

Sorry to hear about your situation with your Father.

First things first, as it's already been mentioned you would not be liable for any debt that is left behind when your Father departs. The creditors can make a claim on his estate, but if he has no assets then there is nothing to claim against and the debt will be written off.

I would be inclined to write a letter on behalf of your Father asking the creditors in light of your Father's health to consider writing the debts off, as clearly he is not in a position pay the debts off. Whether the creditors would be willing to do this would be really down to their discretion, but in cases such as this it is something that can happen.

If the creditors are not willing to do this, then you could consider making small token payments to the creditors. Don't pay anything more than your Father can afford to pay, and you are certainly not obliged to pay anything yourself either. If you would like to discuss this process in more detail, please call us on 0800 138 1111 and we can help discuss further.

Hope this helps,
CCCS

beanielou

Spot on advice from CCCS_Matthew.
Sorry about your dad.