Means test after death.

AsknAnswer2

patman99 wrote: »

So, what would happen if the letter arrived the day after the estate had been divided according to the will ?.

The executor is responsible for settling debt from the estate before distribution. If the estate is divided up before debts are settled, without placing a notice in the London or Edinburgh gazette and in the knowledge that there may be debt outstanding, the executor can be pursued to settle the debt if there were sufficient funds in the estate to pay some or all of the debt.

Where there are insufficient funds the debts must be paid in a strict order of priority. Debt will only be written off if the estate runs dry by paying higher priority debts.

tommum

I have a similar problem. My aunt was on housing benefit, pension credit, state pension and DLA. She passed away last weekend leaving her housing association home needing to be cleared of furniture and a huge amount of rubbish. I'm led to believe I, as next of kin, but not executor of her will (she had no assets) am responsible for the cost of clearing her home. It would be a very big undertaking and I can't afford to do it (also my health is not good). Can I be held liable for the cost of all this?

Oldernotwiser

tommum wrote: »

I have a similar problem. My aunt was on housing benefit, pension credit, state pension and DLA. She passed away last weekend leaving her housing association home needing to be cleared of furniture and a huge amount of rubbish. I'm led to believe I, as next of kin, but not executor of her will (she had no assets) am responsible for the cost of clearing her home. It would be a very big undertaking and I can't afford to do it (also my health is not good). Can I be held liable for the cost of all this?

Are you her only niece/nephew?

Are you sure that there's nothing in the flat (furniture/white goods/TV/etc) that could be sold to cover any costs?

tommum

I am her only relative and yes there are goods which could be sold but I live a fair distance away. I imagine the housing association would like their property back asap but I physically am not able to undertake any clearing of the house. I just need to know whether the housing association can pursue me for the cost of having the property emptied. There is nothing of value in her estate to pay for the clearance.

It sounds like I can't be bothered but that's really not the case. It would have to be a house clearance firm that did it, but I'm not sure if I'd be given a bill which I couldn't pay.

poppasmurf_bewdley

tommum wrote: »

I am her only relative and yes there are goods which could be sold but I live a fair distance away. I imagine the housing association would like their property back asap but I physically am not able to undertake any clearing of the house. I just need to know whether the housing association can pursue me for the cost of having the property emptied. There is nothing of value in her estate to pay for the clearance.

It sounds like I can't be bothered but that's really not the case. It would have to be a house clearance firm that did it, but I'm not sure if I'd be given a bill which I couldn't pay.

If you are not the executor of the estate, do you know who is (if anybody)? It's not down to you to organise clearing the house - that's up to the Housing Association.

If she leaves any valuables, the executor or if none the courts, will administer the estate. If there is a surplus after funeral and other expenses, you will get it. If there's a shortfall, the costs will fall on the Housing Association and the council (for funeral, etc).

Tell the Housing Association you're not the executor and they'll have to find out who is if you don't know. It's more their problem than yours.

Oldernotwiser

tommum wrote: »

I am her only relative and yes there are goods which could be sold but I live a fair distance away. I imagine the housing association would like their property back asap but I physically am not able to undertake any clearing of the house. I just need to know whether the housing association can pursue me for the cost of having the property emptied. There is nothing of value in her estate to pay for the clearance.
.

Sorry, these two statements contradict each other.

rogerblack

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Sorry, these two statements contradict each other.

Not if the total value won't exceed the clearance costs.

Oldernotwiser

rogerblack wrote: »

Not if the total value won't exceed the clearance costs.

That might work either way, the OP doesn't say. It isn't normally expensive to get a small flat cleared.

tommum

I've been quoted £600 by the housing association as the price a house clearance firm would charge to clear the house, plus was told I'd be charged 4 weeks rent.

All executors are deceased and yes while there are a few white goods, they'd go nowhere near covering these costs. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.

tommum

And thank you to poppasmurf_bewdley for the reply which helped a lot. Been worrying a lot about all this and the funeral was today so am feeling pretty low. I may just tell the housing association to recoup the cost of anything they can. I don't want to benefit in any way financially.