debt after death: dad has same name as grandad

sofababe

Assisted Probate Services are as their name suggests a company who deal with probate and the estate of a person after they have died. Therefore they must know that your Grandad has died. How much is the debt they are claiming? Does it seem in line with probate costs? It seems possible that their bill wasn't settled after the probate was dealt with but as has already been stated here the debt is statute barred as it is over 6 years old. I think they are just hoping to harass your dad into settling the bill.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=33791957&postcount=25

Here's the letter to send them re the statute barred law

miss_marsters

sofababe wrote: »

Assisted Probate Services are as their name suggests a company who deal with probate and the estate of a person after they have died. Therefore they must know that your Grandad has died. How much is the debt they are claiming? Does it seem in line with probate costs? It seems possible that their bill wasn't settled after the probate was dealt with but as has already been stated here the debt is statute barred as it is over 6 years old. I think they are just hoping to harass your dad into settling the bill.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=33791957&postcount=25

Here's the letter to send them re the statute barred law

Thanks for the advice, yes they know my grandad is dead and the debt is around £175. As far as i'm aware they orginally chased my dad thinking he was my grandad, but now know he isnt. the orginal debt was with GE captial

RAS

GE capital are unsecured creditors and it appears that APS are trying to make your dad pay an old debt because as executor he was liable for any debts not paid by the estate before probate was granted.

Did he advertise for creditors to come forward?

Even if he did not, the debt is statute barred.

redsam

if you do sent the death certificate - send a copy or get another copy done

MrsTinks

RAS - it sounds to me like the father/son was infact not the executor of the will. The OP and their dad don't know who it was and I am guessing that the grandmother/widow is not totally with it any more as she can't be of help?

OP - tell them that your dad was NOT the executor and does not know who was. Tell them if they continue to hassle him he will charge them for the time it is taking him to deal with their repeated claims for money they he does infact not owe.
The onus is not on your dad to prove he was not executor not the debtor - it's on the company owed the money who has to do the work to prove he owes it either as the debtor (which he is not) or as the executor (which again he is not)

MotownFox

Surely A P S would/should have known enough info to get a copy of the Probate from the Probate Registry (it costs very little) which would tell them who the Executor was, which may have been the elderly wife of the grandad, who sounds like she may not be capable. And if this was the case they would stand no chance to get any moneys back and in any case it probably is statute barred now or very soon.