Peonie's journey to smart money management

Peonie

Lois_E wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your family member being ill. Hope things improve soon.

Thanks Lois. Unfortunately it's not good news, the family member I mentioned passed away. It was a shock to us all. At times like these priorities shift and our priority is supporting and spending time with each other.

Peonie.

Lois_E

Oh Peonie, I'm so sorry for your loss.
Hugs to you and your family.

gallygirl

Hugs from me too Peonie

gg x

Peonie

Thanks Lois and GG, your messages are appreciated.

I have been checking in and keeping up with everyone's threads but have not felt like posting.

We had the funeral last week and it was lovely. The most personal funeral I have been to. The church was full and everyone had so many nice things to say.

Two weeks later and it does not seem real. Like we have not spoke or visited for a while but we will again soon.

We're still sorting out the personal effects and the bills. I must be missing something, but there does not seem to be a lot of information on the internet explaining to family members what the next of kin has to pay for. At first we thought we would have to pay all the debts but some companies (not all) have been really helpful and have said we split the estate between the companies until the estate is gone and (we think) they will absorb the remaining debt.

I wish we had known about the debts, but coming from a different generation they did not talk about money. We could have helped.

Lois_E

Peonie

If your family member's assets are not enough to cover their debts, then the estate is insolvent. The executor(s) of the will is/are really going to need a solicitor to help on this one. It's quite straightforward for a legal professional, but not easy for someone who doesn't know all the rules, and quite stressful too, because some creditors will give you a lot of hassle, which you really don't need at a time like this. Don't pay any debts until you have got legal advice. Nobody is liable for them other than the estate. If there's not enough money in the estate, then the funeral bills and solicitor's bill get paid first, and then whatever money is left (plus the proceeds from selling any other assets) has to be divided up in exactly the right proportions among the creditors. Please get a solicitor who specialises in probate. Don't worry about the expense - the legal bills are met out of the estate, and the creditors get a smaller slice of the pie each afterwards, and they have to absorb the rest of the debt.

Hugs and prayers,
Lois

Peonie

Hmmmm, we did not find a will and have already closed the bank accounts and have started to pay the debts. There is an insurance policy for the funeral costs. As the house is rented we thought we would have to pay for each week we had it and so cleared the property as soon as possible.

I have just been reading the Citizens Advice website and there is some useful information on there.

Lois_E

No no no. Stop paying debts immediately, please. I don't want to be bossy but I don't want you to end up out of pocket when you don't need to be.

If you give one creditor more that it turns out ought to have been their share, you will have to make up the difference yourselves to make sure that the others get as much as they're due. You may already be in trouble for having cleared the house without getting its contents valued. Anyone who has got anything from the house that's of any resale value will have to pay the estate for it, and the money added to the pot for sharing between the creditors. I'm not a legal expert, but I've been involved with an insolvent estate before, so I've had the rules explained to me.

If there's no will, then the estate is not only insolvent but intestate. That means that the paperwork is a bit different, but doesn't change the rules on what happens to the debts. You pay for the funeral and the solicitor's bills out of whatever money there is, and then you share out what's left among the creditors. The rules of intestacy would normally determine who got the remaining money, but if there isn't any, then it's academic who would have got it.

Also, if the person was employed, check with their employer if there is a part-month of salary owing. If they had a pension (either a pension they were paying into, or a pension they were drawing) then check whether there are any death benefits from the pension scheme. If they were married and leave a widow(er) and/or financial dependents, then check with the DWP for bereavement benefits - there are several for different circumstances.

I am so very sorry that you are going through this in addition to your bereavement. It all sounds very distressing. But please please take proper legal advice before you do anything else.

More hugs and prayers,
Lois

Peonie

I spoke to DH about the intestacy rules, he had some of knowledge of them as in the order of debt payment from the estate, and it sounds like he has a plan. I would prefer he contacted a solicitor even for an initial conversation but as the estate is so small he is confident he can sort it out. DH thinks he can quickly find out how much he & his sibling have already paid and to who. The money from the estate has been kept separate from our own. We are certain all of the companies who are owed money have been contacted, and they will contact him in 5 weeks to proceed.

We'll make sure we know the full amount outstanding before making any more payments, and we'll look into how the money from the estate should be shared out - but if anyone knows please say.

Thanks for the advice.

Sepa74

Wow Peony, what a difficult situation! Especially if, as you say, there isn't much information on the web. From what Lois says it sounds extremely complicated! Good luck getting it sorted, and if there is one piece of advice I would want to give, it is get a solicitor involved. I know it may seem simple to sort, but see the solicitor as a sort of insurance policy to make sure there are no nasty surprises.

Good luck with it all, I know you'll get through this difficult time, just keep taking it day by day. <big hug>

Peonie

Wow, who knew keeping a spending diary could be so stressful!

For the last two months (since we have moved in) my out-goings have far exceeded my income. Which I would have been aware of without the spending diary but seeing the RED MINUS total every time I fill in the diary is not good.

I was about £300 over last month and I expect to be £400 over this month, it's a good job I have a bit of a buffer in my account but this overspend cannot last for long.

Over our normal spent this month I paid £170 to the builder, £287 for kitchen floor tiles, £170 on a couple of nights in a B&B (pretty much our only holiday this year), £170 on meals out on holiday & during the month, £135 on a professional membership (which I will get back from work next month), £35 post redirection for 3 months, and finally a wedding anniversary present for my mum and dad costing £68.

Oops.

For the gift I went through Quidco so should get 30% back and my sister is paying for half, but I think I may have paid twice by mistake (I'll need to check on this) and chose to continue to renew the gift annually so I would get £20 off the membership price, so I need to stop the membership from automatically renewing in a couple of months.