Husband died leaving no will & Scotland

Beebo

10 weeks ago, my husband was tragically killed in a road traffic accident and my world has been turned upside down.

My husband and i hadn't gotten round to writing wills, and I'm having to go through lots of awful administrative hell to work things out.

In a finacial sense, we thankfully had a small life insurance policy which has paid out to me the only debt I have paid are the funeral expenses. My husband has an outstanding tax return (approximately £5k and a small overdraft of £500. Do i need to pay these?

We own a house, and the title is in joint names. Does this mean that my husband's share of the house will automatically fall to me (we have no children) or does his share become split with his parents/sisters? I'm continually reading conflicting information about this. i know that it might seem insensitive to be thinking about property/money and to be honest it's been making me feel sick, but I know that I now have to sort out my own will in the very near future and think about my finacial future. If his share of the house is taken as part of his estate, do i need to pay to have it valued?

I live in Scotland and have been told that I have to write a letter of petition to the local serrif court to be appointed as my husband's executor and then as his affairs are fairly straight forward I was considering doing the confirmation (probate) myself as opposed to appointing a solicitor, other than for the things I need to appoint them for ie. changing title deeds.

All help appreciated.

saorsie

Hi Beebo

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, what a difficult time for you and please shrug off any feelings of insensitivity about sorting out your late husbands financial affairs ~ it has to be done at some point and you are more than likely going to be the one to do it so if you feel ready, now is as good a time as any.
Also you must think of your own needs and emotional welfare. Your life has been turned upside down as you say so any stability that you can introduce back into it has got to be a positive at the moment.

Soooooo, my husband died 5 years ago also intestate, however I am in England so can only go on that I'm afraid.

I'll answer the questions you've asked, based on my own experience, however please check out what I've said as like you I was in a bit of a daze at the time

I had to pay any debts that were in my husbands name, so he had a small balance on a CC for example, however his bank were very accommodating and I didn't have to pay it until the letters of administration were sorted out.

We had a joint mortgage with joint title on the property, the ownership passed to me and I paid off the mortgage with the proceeds from the estate. I have since sold the property and bought another and there has been no problems.

In the UK, I had to apply for letters of Administration to allow me to wind up the estate. This involved completing a form to prove who I was and a rough estimate of what the estate entailed and I think I remember having to attend the county court office to swear. I completed all the work myself rather than using a solicitor and it was straightforward (we had no children together however he had a daughter from a previous marriage) if timeconsuming. In fact it kept me focused during those first few months when everything else was so up in the air.

I'm sure you will have loads of other questions and I will happily help if I can or if you'd rather pm please do.

Please take care of yourself

-s-

NeverAgain_2

Your husband's estate basically passes to you under the intestacy rules.

In other words, you as his widow are first in line, ahead of your husband's blood relatives.

The link is from the gov.UK site, obviously 'UK' includes Scotland, but the rules may be different north of the border, but I suspect they are not.

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/civil/probate/why_will.htm#intestacy

RAS

beebo

There are three issues

1. The house - in England ownership and liability is joint and several, so this would not form part of the estate. Nor would joint bank or savings accounts.
2. Life insurance - it depends how this was written, it may or may not be part of the estate.
3. Intestacy law would cover the estate - these are different in Engaland and Wales as are probate laws. You have to pay the funeral costs first, any debts and then administer the rest in line with these laws.

So, you need to establish what is included in the estate first.

Go over to the MSE Housing and renting forum because they helped with a Scotish intestacy situation recently.
t

googler

Beebo wrote: »

10 weeks ago, my husband was tragically killed in a road traffic accident and my world has been turned upside down.

My husband and i hadn't gotten round to writing wills, and I'm having to go through lots of awful administrative hell to work things out.

My husband has an outstanding tax return (approximately £5k and a small overdraft of £500. Do i need to pay these?

Yes. These are the debts of his estate, and as his executor, it falls to you to pay them.

Stay calm. It's a straightforward process.

Beebo wrote: »

We own a house, and the title is in joint names. Does this mean that my husband's share of the house will automatically fall to me (we have no children) or does his share become split with his parents/sisters? I'm continually reading conflicting information about this. i know that it might seem insensitive to be thinking about property/money and to be honest it's been making me feel sick, but I know that I now have to sort out my own will in the very near future and think about my finacial future. If his share of the house is taken as part of his estate, do i need to pay to have it valued?

I gather there's varying forms of title, and you need to determine if you have a 'survivorship' clause in your title deeds. If you have, the full title of the house automatically passes to you. But it might be worth checking with a competent solicitor. Without a survivorship clause, the house is distributed according to intestacy rules, as long as its value is below £300,000.

Beebo wrote: »

I live in Scotland and have been told that I have to write a letter of petition to the local serrif court to be appointed as my husband's executor and then as his affairs are fairly straight forward I was considering doing the confirmation (probate) myself as opposed to appointing a solicitor, other than for the things I need to appoint them for ie. changing title deeds.

The letter of petition needs to be in a specific legal form, so you may need a solicitor for this.

Read this booklet, which is normally given out by the local registrar to those who register a death with them

I believe if there's a survivorship clause in the deeds at present, you don't need to change them.

Info about survivorship clause - http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/getadvice/advice_topics/finding_a_place_to_live/buying_a_home/buying_a_home_with_other_people#2

TonyMMM

googler wrote: »

Yes. These are the debts of his estate, and as his executor, it falls to you to pay them.

Correct, but only if there are sufficient assets in the estate, otherwise the debt will be written off.

Hence why it is so important to correctly assess what falls within the estate and what doesn't.

Yargo1

Sorry to hear your sad news beebo. I didnt want to read and run. Looks like you getting some good advice on here anyhow

take care x

dancingfairy

Hi. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. You are right though to be thinking of getting all the administration dealt with. There is a book by Which called something like What do When Someone Dies - my family have found this helpful in the past I believe. I don't know whether it covers Scotland but it might be worth having a look in a local library to see if they have any copies and if it is relevant to you or perhaps something similar?
The other thing I thought of was perhaps you have a CAB/Advice Centre nearby who may be able to point you in the right direction?
Also have you tried the Scottish goverment website - I'd be surprised if there wasn't info. around somewhere -it's just a case of finding it isn't it.

Best Wishes
df

beanielou

TonyMMM wrote: »

Correct, but only if there are sufficient assets in the estate, otherwise the debt will be written off.

Hence why it is so important to correctly assess what falls within the estate and what doesn't.

This is correct.

Sorry to read your news.
Most lawyers will do a free half an hour interview & would be able to tell you what you need to know.
Take care.

googler

I've still got the confirmation that my Mum used when Dad passed away - their titles had a joint survivorship clause, and the house wasn't shown on the confirmation; what was shown was

Bank Accounts
Joint Bank Accounts (half of the balance, as my Dad's share)
Stocks & Shares
Personal Possessions
Premium Bonds

Staff at the Sheriff Clerk's Office are empowered to assist executors with small estates, but not with large estates. If, as it sounds, your husband's estate excluding share of the house is a small estate, you could get a helping hand.....

[Deleted User]

Sorry I have no advice, but didn't want to read and run.

So sorry for your loss.

D9