Next of Kin and debts

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If someone dies with very little money and property of no real value. but a lot of debt (which is all is their name), is this all written off or do the companies come after the next of kin for the money, despite there being no money or an estate of any kind (hope that makes sense)

Thanks

terryw

If the deceased left no assets then that's it - the next of kin is not responsible for any debts.

happyhaddock_2

Yes terryw is correct, my dad died last year, left no estate and had no assets. We had to send a certified copy of the death certificate (we got 5 copies from the registrar) and then the debt, which was solely in his name, was written off. Hope this helps and sorry for your loss.

skylight

It doesn't necessarily stop the collectors from trying it on though. All they want is money and it has been known (here on MSE and personally a friend) that they use the highly emotional period immediately after the relative has passed away to chase the next of kin for repayment.

Debt collectors rather than established banks (IME) tend to use this dubious method.

Savvy_Sue

"And I'm sure your late relative wouldn't like to think of the debt not being repaid, would they?"

To which the obvious answer is that if they'd been that upset by it, they'd have been doing something about it, wouldn't they?

DVardysShadow

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

"And I'm sure your late relative wouldn't like to think of the debt not being repaid, would they?"

To which the obvious answer is that if they'd been that upset by it, they'd have been doing something about it, wouldn't they?

I think I would tell them that the deceased is working from beyond the grave to pay the money back and that the debt company should phone them ASAP.

Newly_retired

I work at CAB and we get people worried about this. Mostly they think they are liable and have to pay. Usually a strongly worded letter does the trick. Or a complaint or threat to take it further to the ombudsman.

[Deleted User]

No one except the person on the credit agreement is liable for the debt.....if there is no estate then the debt dies with them.....as others have mentioned I have known people who have been told by the companys that they will have to pay as executor of will or as next of kin but it is definatley not the case, just stand your ground they don't have a leg to stand on.

virgo149

I dealt with this sort of thing when my sister passed away. I took the advice someone gave me on here and it worked fine.

I sent a copy of her interim death certificate to every one of her creditors I could find trace of (and there were many). In each letter I confirmed she had passed and as a result of not leaving any funds (not even enough for her funeral) the debt would not be satisfied.

I signed the letters but I did not supply an address or contact phone number.

The only one that 'tried' anything was the housing association who did have my address. I did have to write to them twice but they eventually realised there was nothing to gain from pestering me and gave up. That bit wasn't great and I lodged a complaint about their actions - strangely, that was when they went quiet.

Hope that helps.

Tuesday_Tenor

The advice given that next of kin can't be chased for the personal debts of the deceased is correct.

However, this bit concerns me a little:
>>>> very little money and property of no real value

If by 'property' you're meaning 'personal possessions' of no real value then it doesn't sound like there's any 'estate' to speak of.

However, if by 'property' you're meaning a small house or something else that CAN be sold, then it sounds like there's a small 'estate' that needs to be administered, against which the creditors can make a claim. When the estate isn't big enough to meet ALL the debts, there is probably a priority order for creditors (e.g. unpaid council tax at top of list?), after which they would all need to be treated equally.

So, could you clarify what you mean by 'property of no ral value'?