Questions after fathers death

dj0586

HI Everyone, I'm hoping someone can help me with answers to a few questions.

My father died on earlier this week, over the last 10 years he became quite heavily indebted to a number of doorstep lenders, I have spent the last few days contacting these as well as utilitie companies and DWP etc...

Firstly every company has been sympathetic and really helpful apart from one, when I informed them my father had passed away, they told me they had been close friends of my father for a number of years and they feel his wishes would be that his family paid his debt for him, needless to say I was not happy about this furthermore they have requested an invite to the funeral. Any advice????

Also his death has now gone to inquest stage so I should be getting interim certificates next weeks.

My father has no assets or belonging, in this case should I still be applying for probate, is it needed if there is nothing to share?

Finally I intend to apply for Bereavement benifits for my mother, she has just turned 50 but both parent have been on disability benifits for about 15 years. My question on this is when recieveing benifits would he still have been making NI contributions.

Thanks in advance for any advice which can be offered.

ifonlyitwaseasier

sorry for your loss DJ

if your father left no assets then the lenders cannot insist that you or your mother pay the debts.

personally i wouldn't invite that person to the funeral tell themm it is family only

ioiwe

tizhimi

they want an invite to the funeral?!? er no. This is a sneaky way to get an invite back to the wake and swipe the china. I honestly wouldn't trust them at all. No no and no again. Please tell them to go swivel on it!

lavidaloca

Sorry for your loss. There is no need to apply for probate as there are no assets. Please do not invite them to the funeral as previous poster says they will be eyeing up the contents of the house. If they call again and you don't want to be rude just say it is a private family affair. You shouldn't pay any of your fathers debts yourself from your own money.

Errata

Sorry for your sad news. If there is no estate, the debts can't be paid and all creditors know this.
If a funeral is held in a church/religious building/crematorium the public can't be banned, so there is no need for a family to issue an 'invitation'. Of course casual friends/acquaintances/neighbours/extended family can ask for the date/time of the service and attend or not.

dj0586

Thanks for all the advice, does anyone know anything about the NI issue.

p-pincher

i was in exactly the same situation when my dad passed away 4 yrs ago. my dad owed various doorstop lenders money. when he died i called to say he had died and as he didnt have no assets- no house etc they would not receive any more payments. i did receive some letters after but i just returned them unopened.

elsien

I think you need to get proper advice re the national insurance credits. This is from the CAB site.

"National insurance credits are Class 1 contributions which you do not pay for. Credits are added to your contribution record when you are unemployed or have limited capability for work, and in some other situations where you are not working for particular reasons. They will not be paid automatically unless HMRC know about your circumstances - for example, you must be signing on with the Jobcentre Plus office, or have a medical certificate. For some types of credits, you also have to apply in writing.
You get credits when you are 16 for the first three years of your contribution record if your record would otherwise be insufficient. You may also be entitled to credits for weeks when you are on an approved training course. You can get credits for weeks doing jury service, weeks in which you get Carer’s Allowance, and for weeks in which you get Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay.
National insurance credits will not help you to qualify for all benefits.
The rules about when you get credits and when you have to apply for them are very complicated. If you have a query about national insurance credits you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB."

Georgie4

Really sorry for the loss you have suffered.

You do not have to pay any debts of your fathers if he has no assets to pay them with. I believe that you don't need probate if the assets are under 15k - did your father leave a will ?