Credit card debt after death - please help

dzug1

Now I think the general rule for Death of a debtors is that debts die with them.

No it isn't the general rule. The general rule is that they must be paid out of the assets of the estate. Only if the estate has insufficient assets to pay them do the die too.

Otherwise I could go out and borrow £1M, top myself and leave my family set up for life.

pelirocco

There does seem to be a fair amount of cash in the estate , how much was her life insurance? Not sure why the house would have to be sold considering how much is in the accounts

Paul_Herring

misswin wrote: »

Thanks, Barclays bereavement services are dealing with

Not that I want to add to your worries, but there was this posted about Barclays and problems with ITC who they've asked to handle probate.

misswin

It's more the fact that the life savings would be wiped out, and sorting out the confusion of what is Grandma's and what is Grandad's. My grandma was very much a 'kept' woman and from what we can tell these credit card debts seem to have escalated from a debt taken out years and years ago (we think she might have drawn cash off her card and not realised the high interest) and that it would be my Grandad's money paying off the credit card debts, as my grandma's income for the last 10 years seems to have been spent on interest repayments, it just seems a little unfair that after being unaware of the debt he will be paying it off. We don't know what the original debt was for, but having spoken to the national debt helpline the best thing to do it seems is to offer payment.

misswin

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Not that I want to add to your worries, but there was ... posted about Barclays and problems with ITC who they've asked to handle probate.

to be honest don't really understand that bit!

portlandboy

misswin wrote: »

to be honest don't really understand that bit!

Hi,
That link refers to the fact that Barclay's Bank have appointed a very unproffesional company by the name of ITC Legal Services to close down the bank accounts of their deceased clients. ITC then make phone calls to the deceased's executors/family, using the personal details gained from the bank accounts and offer to take on the work of obtaining probate and executing the estate.

I'm guessing that your grandfather does not need to obtain probate in this case but, when he eventually passes away, his executors will have to apply for a Grant of Probate (to legally action his will). If he has bank accounts with Barclay's at that time , expect the hard sell and remember this name. ITC Legal Services. Just search Google or this forum to see what they're like.

Hope you get things sorted.
Regards,

rubyjam

When my father died, I contacted his bank (Nat West) re a loan he had (around 5K). I was put through to a lovely lady who asked if there was any money in his estate, I told her all he had was the house he shared with my mother. She said not to worry and the debt would be written off.

He (my father) also had a CC (also Nat West) with a balance of around £500. My mother insisted on paying that, but in all honesty I think they would have written that off too - I think it just made her feel better to pay it.

I hope Barclays sort something out for you, we found Nat West to be very sympathetic and helpful. I'm sure Barclays won't make your Grandfather sell his home and I'm pretty certain I was told that a persons debts die with them. Hope you get this sorted soon, debt worries are the last thing your Grandfather needs at this time.

bryanjones23

Hi all, i'm new here and i've a similar tale of woe.
My mother was widowed (from her second husband) 2 months ago.
After my step-dads death we discovered that not only had he built up credit card debts of approximately £40,000 but also he'd allowed ALL his insurances to lapse.
So my mum is left with the house (small joint mortgage) and her own credit card borrowing to deal with. Now, she had two separate pay-outs of approx. £24k each from his two previous employers.
To explain, he'd been a miner for over 20 years and in a well known security firm for almost another 20 years.
My sister and i have had the house formally transferred into my mums sole name but there is still the matter of nearly £40,000 in loans/cards that she wasn't even aware of until after he died!
I've read many times that these should "die with him" but EXACTLY what is the process i need to go through to ensure the Card companies recognise this?
Any help much appreciated, Thanks.

As far as we can find out, he had no assets except the family home which was in joint names.