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Help and Advice Required

Grant_UK_2
Posts: 13 Forumite
in Credit cards
Hi all
I've been lurking on the boards for some time but a situation has arisen which I could do with some advice on.
My mother-in-law has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and unfortunately the prognosis is that she has less than a year to live. This is upsetting in itself, but on top of that, it has come to light that she has amassed £8500 of debt on an M&S credit card at an average APR of approximately 22.5% (20.9% on card purchases, 25.9% on cash withdrawals).
I was amazed that she was able to get a card with such a high credit limit - I'm assuming she's had it for some time and built it up.
Monthly payments are around £210, with £160 of that going on interest.
Her and her husband are both retired and drawing pensions. Their house is paid off, and they will be able to claim some payments because of the severity of her illness, which will help in the interim. That situation will, of course, change when she dies.
There is no payment protection on M&S cards, so that's not an option for taking care of the outstanding balance.
My main question is, are M&S likely to come after her husband for the outstanding amount after her death? That being the case, will he be forced to sell the property to settle that debt if he's unable to raise the cash any other way? He has been severely ill himself, so a remortgage on the property is likely to be difficult to obtain, especially as he is nearly 70.
I could try to find some life of balance cards with lower interest rates, but £8500's worth of credit isn't going to be easy to arrange in that way.
If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or advice to help me work out the best plan of action, I'd very much apprciate it.
Thanks for your help.
I've been lurking on the boards for some time but a situation has arisen which I could do with some advice on.
My mother-in-law has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and unfortunately the prognosis is that she has less than a year to live. This is upsetting in itself, but on top of that, it has come to light that she has amassed £8500 of debt on an M&S credit card at an average APR of approximately 22.5% (20.9% on card purchases, 25.9% on cash withdrawals).
I was amazed that she was able to get a card with such a high credit limit - I'm assuming she's had it for some time and built it up.
Monthly payments are around £210, with £160 of that going on interest.
Her and her husband are both retired and drawing pensions. Their house is paid off, and they will be able to claim some payments because of the severity of her illness, which will help in the interim. That situation will, of course, change when she dies.
There is no payment protection on M&S cards, so that's not an option for taking care of the outstanding balance.
My main question is, are M&S likely to come after her husband for the outstanding amount after her death? That being the case, will he be forced to sell the property to settle that debt if he's unable to raise the cash any other way? He has been severely ill himself, so a remortgage on the property is likely to be difficult to obtain, especially as he is nearly 70.
I could try to find some life of balance cards with lower interest rates, but £8500's worth of credit isn't going to be easy to arrange in that way.
If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or advice to help me work out the best plan of action, I'd very much apprciate it.
Thanks for your help.
0
Comments
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afaik they can only request it is paid from HER estate,if she leaves nothing then they get nothing,if its in her name only then her OH wont be asked to repay any of it0
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if the house is paid off it depends on whether they are joint owners or tennants in common, your MiL would have an estate for M&S to claim off if she has a share of the property. So whilst she is cash poor she might be asset rich. I would suggest that they consult a solicitor as any changes here would impact on wills etc and require a solicitor's services.0
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I think that you would also need a solicitor's advice to ensure that changing her will (if that is what was decided) because of her diagnosis, to evade repayment of debt did not constitute fraud.
A lot of things to think about and you really need to talk this through with a professional properly qualified to advise on such matters, rather than take on board what is provided here which are peoples views.0 -
Thanks all for your reply.
I didn't realise until today, but the house is solely in her husband's name and always has been, so that may mean that M&S will only have her immediate assets to look to, which won't amount to much.
We will consult with solicitors in any case and we will also be asking the CAB for advice, but I know that there's a wealth of experience on these boards so it was worth posing the question on here.
Cheers - Grant0
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