Selling items to pay for funeral etc - advice needed

virgo149

Just reading up on this - due to the insolvency of my sisters estate and the fact that it probably amounts to less than 2K I don't think we need letters of administration - can someone have a look at this and see what you think.

Do you always need probate or letters of administration

You always need probate or letters of administration to deal with an estate if it includes property such as a flat or a house. Otherwise, you may not need probate or letters of administration if:

• the estate is just made up of cash (that is, bank notes and coins) and personal possessions such as a car, furniture, and jewellery
• all the property in the estate is owned as beneficial joint tenants This property automatically becomes wholly owned by the other owner
• you had a joint bank account
• the amount of money is small
• you discover that the estate is insolvent, that is, there is not enough money in the estate to pay all the debts, taxes and expenses
• there are certain life insurance policies and pension benefits in the estate.

This is from: http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/family/dealing_with_the_financial_affairs_of_someone_who_has_died.htm#letters_of_administration

When my mum passed away 2 years ago, even though she had a will, as her estate was so small none of the banks wanted us to get probate and it was very straightforward. I think we'll try this route again and see what happens.

dzug1

virgo149 wrote: »

? What are these and can we do them without paying for a solicitor?

They are the equivalent of probate in the absence of a will. You can DIY - no need to involve a solicitor. I think the court fee is around £100

But in your case I wouldn't bother - you don't sound as though you are going to need them to collect any assets (eg bank accounts over £5000, shares, etc) she had which is their main point.

In a sense it's not your problem - it's the creditors'. Walk away from it.

lswwong

I stand corrected by Lavidaloca. Yes, less than a certain amount probate is not necessary. Though calling the number below may be helpful:

The Probate and Inheritance Tax Helpline offers information. Telephone: 0845 302 0900. Lines are open 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday.

Oldernotwiser

dzug1 wrote: »

They are the equivalent of probate in the absence of a will. You can DIY - no need to involve a solicitor. I think the court fee is around £100

But in your case I wouldn't bother - you don't sound as though you are going to need them to collect any assets (eg bank accounts over £5000, shares, etc) she had which is their main point.

In a sense it's not your problem - it's the creditors'. Walk away from it.

I'd just like to point out that the information quoted says that you "may not" need to apply for this, rather than you don't have to.

Although the creditors can't come after you personally for their money, in these circumstances I'd do everything by the book or you may find yourselves in long winded dealings with creditors who may feel that you've cheated them out of any assets that could have gone towards paying off their debts.

virgo149

Thanks again all. Like I've already said there are very few assets.

Property - council house - no assets.
Personal items - 800 quid in the bank, a car worth about 500 and a few bit of furniture.
Debts of around 7K.

My dad will have the car to sell as he bought it originally and will pay off finance he took out on a previous one he bought for her and is still paying for - all in his name so no problem there.

Have established my dad doesn't qualify for a funeral payout - I think there are two types and he can't claim for the big one. We will sell or charity everything else to help pay for things. We both work so we don't either and I pretty much think my brother is exempt to. None of us are well off but none are on benefits either.

This is the 4th funeral I've been involved in arranging in under 4 years - both parents in law (the last was November last year) and my mother. My mothers was a burial and cost over 3K. Parents in law were around 2.5K each. At the end of the day she was my big sister and I would walk over fire to ensure she gets a good send off and everything is sorted. It's less than one year's ISA and to be honest, at the moment, it's only money. We also did the probate on parents in law and like I said, my mum didn't have enough savings to have to go through that one.

Savvy_Sue

I am sorry for your loss.

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

I didn't put my address on the letter, just my mobile number.

If you do this, I personally would use a 'new' number for this rather than my regular number. Gives you more control over when you deal with these things. SIM cards are not hard to come by if you don't have a 'spare' mobile knocking around. And you don't have to return calls on that phone, although I'd make sure my number was blocked when calling back.

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

I got the most grief from M&S their staff said things like 'Would your mother be happy dying with the stain of debt on her character?'

One can think of several possible responses:

"She seemed to be happy living with it, why should she be worried now?"

"I wasn't planning to tell her just yet, how about you?"

"I wasn't planning to publicise the state of her financial affairs to all and sundry, how about you?"

virgo149

Just an update for all who advised and really helped me during this.

We had to get out of the house in 2 weeks and actually left it in a better state than when she took it over several years ago. The housing association were awful, threatening all sorts of action if we left a mess or did not pay up what was owing. I wrote a stinking letter complaining of their attitude and their actions (and telling them there was no money). Surprisingly, they've never replied or acknowledged my letter!

I have written to every one of her creditors, giving a copy of the interim death certificate (still waiting for results of inquest) and telling them no money. I did not give any reply address or phone number so have thankfully had no comeback (I also 'failed' to have her post redirected just in case they can find out addresses that way). Due to her estate being so small, the bank didn 't need any form of letters of administration etc to release her money - <900 quid.

We still have to work out how to pay just over two grand that's left from her funeral costs having managed to sell quite a bit of stuff - the funeral cost 3.5K (and that was quite basic) and it's currently sat on a 0% credit card - I've lost my job yesterday so may have to use my savings now.

To anyone in the same position I hope this helps - I'll still never get this quite straight in my head, but it's really helped in a way to have to be focused on practical things.