Family Death leaves debt... HELP

SAP_Saver

There gas been a death in the family recently and we have just found out that he left a bit of debt behind.
I believe this was a couple of CC's both with around £1000 owed.
Also there was an account with a pottery company with around £500 owed.

The deceased separated from his wife over 20 years ago but never divorced and he has two sons and two brothers... none of which have a few grand to cover these debts, they can not even afford the funeral! :huh:

Who is responsible for these debts if anyone at all? Bearing in mind the deceased did not have any contact with any (bar one son) of these people of years prior to his funeral...

Any help would be gratefully received, thank you in anticipation

SAP_Saver

Murtle

Sorry to hear about the death.

But I thought, maybe incorrectly that credit card debt dies with a person as it is not guaranteed - oh I wish I could remember the word!

I'm sure someone can give an answer soon though?!

x x

SAP_Saver

This is what I was thinking however the son of the deceased (my father in law) has been told that the next of kin is responsible but, can not make up their minds as to who is the next of kin...

regularsaver1

was there no life cover? or a will?

Amanda65

I understand that the CC companies will try and retrieve the money from the estate, and any assets may have to be sold to cover this. If however there is no money left then relatives are not responsible although some companies may try to claim it! The only time this woudl not apply is if there was a joint signatory (sp) on the account - the det would then be their responsibility

SAP_Saver

neither unfortunatly, and he lived in a council house all of his life living off the DSS and incapacity benefits (but that is not his familys fault now is it...) he was not exactly organised like that nor did he care I don't think about leaving the debt behind... probably thought that they would die with him.

Murtle

Amanda65 is right there, the credit card companies will try. Don't sign anything or accept anything. If there is no money, there is no money. They can't have anything.

Good luck

x

creditcardking_2

Sorry to hear about the death. You do not have to pay. This is how the credit card company may respond.


CUSTOMER CREDIT CARD SERVICE

A lady died this past January, and the bank billed her for
February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card,
and then added late fees and interest on the monthly charge.

The balance had been $0.00, now is somewhere around $60.00.

A family member placed a call to the bank:

Family Member:
"I am calling to tell you that she died in January."

Bank:
"The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still
apply."

Family Member:
"Maybe, you should turn it over to collections."

Bank:
"Since it is two months past due, it already has been."

Family Member:
So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?"

Bank:
"Either report her account to the frauds division or report her to the
credit bureau, maybe both!"

Family Member:
"Do you think God will be mad at her?"

Bank:
"Excuse me?"

Family Member:
"Did you just get what I was telling you . . . the part about her being
dead?"

Bank:
"Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor."

Supervisor gets on the phone:

Family Member:
"I'm calling to tell you, she died in January."

Bank:
"The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still
apply."

Family Member:
"You mean you want to collect from her estate?"

Bank:
(Stammer) "Are you her lawyer?"

Family Member:
"No, I'm her great nephew."

(Lawyer info given)

Bank:
"Could you fax us a certificate of death?"

Family Member: "Sure."
(fax number is given)

After they get the fax:

Bank:
"Our system just isn't setup for death. I don't know what more I can do
to help."

Family Member:
"Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing
her. I don't think she will care."

Bank:
"Well, the late fees and charges do still apply."

Family Member:
"Would you like her new billing address?"

Bank:
"That might help."

Family Member:
"Odessa Memorial Cemetery, 1249 Sydney Rd, Plot Number 69."

Bank:
"Sir, that's a cemetery!"

Family Member:
"What do you do with dead people on your planet?"

Xbigman

The estate of anyone deceased is responsible for all their debts. This includes credit cards, loans, utility bills, everything they owe to the penny.
The executor or administrator of the estate is responsible for sorting this out but they are not directly responsible for the debts themselves. This might mean the executor or administrator does no more than write letters to all the creditors saying there are no assets and they will not be paid (this would need to be backed up with some evidence IE copies and bank statements, rent books, etc).

Specifically. Did he leave any assets? Anything at all that can be sold or anything that family members want to keep (they might have to pay the estate for anything like this).
As for next of kin; the creditors want to know who to deal with to sort out the estate. If no executor or administrator comes forward then they ask who the next of kin is. This is actually pointless as only the executor or administrator can dispose of assets or recover money. If no one wants to sort out the estate then simply ignore everything any creditor sends you. This does mean no one can touch anything of the deceased and (usually) the council will clear out the deceased posessions and arrange the funeral. This is only usual if someone dies with no relatives at all. If any relatives are still around they usually step in and try to sort out the situation (wouldn't we all want to).

There are lots of different specific situations but as for the OP I would think the son who had some contact would step in and inform creditors of the death of his father and register the death and send creditors copies of the death certificate. He should try to find out if there were any assets in the estate. If there were then he needs to see a solicitor and register as the administrator of the estate (I assume there was no will) which costs £400 to £500 if its straight forward. If there really are no assets then contact the local council and ask them to dispose of the body. Some councils are ok, other can get a biy heavy handed with relatives. Just tough it out.
Regards


X

harrie_2

the debt dies with them you will have 2 get extra death certivicates they may ask 4 one sorry about your loss hope i have helped

Louise1521

I went through the same thing last year. If there is no estate then nobody else is liable. I wrote letters to the companies involved, most asked for a death certificate. One company was fantastic, straight away they said it would be written off. One is still sending us bills now, despite numerous phone calls and emails.

Hope you get it all sorted out.