Death In Family...Help I have questions i have no idea about

tuppie

My Husbands Uncle passed away today and I am stuck as to what to advise his mother....

We have not experianced a passing in the Family so i Dont know where to Start?

He had Cancer so passed in Hopital he was on Pension Credit and I think he may have life insurance for Funeral Costs? yet to FInd out.

He was in council Housing and the Flat has to be empty Before this weekend other wise they will charge Full Rent.

So If My brother in law hires a van to clear the Flat out and My Mother in law (passed away uncles Sister) withdraws the fund from his bank account and keeps all receipts to show it was used for the Hire of a Van ETC is this allowed?

Does she have to instead apply to the court instead to take control of a Bank account that was his?

If there is No Estate Does all his debts end as i think he has a provident Loan?
There is no direct Family other then his sister Never Married nor children

Sorry i have posted it in the wrong place but if anyone has the answers You guys would...


Thank you in advance x

ognum

I am sorry to hear you have lost your uncle I will try to help a little

Forstly you Mum will not be able to take any money from her brothers bank account as it will be frozen u ntil probate is granted the only people who can access the bank account are the funeral director and if your mum takes the funeral account into the bank they will settle it direct

You need to take a copy of the death certificate to the bank they will freeze the accounts

His next of kin or the executors of his will if he has one will need to establish any money he has and what debts he has Contact the suppliers of gas electric water and council tax to inform of his death I have always found them very sympathetic

Someone needs to go through his paperwork to find out if he has any life insurance or a will

I am so sorry again I hope it is not too painful

muskoka

Things may have changed, so my info may be incorrect but ten years ago you could withdraw funds from deceased account provided it was less than about 5K & you provided a copy of the will to the bank showing you were executor......May have changed now... Maybe check with appropriate bank/s?

cosmic-dust

A good starting point would be here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Death/WhatToDoAfterADeath/DG_10029808

batman321

Banks will usually release funds from deceased bank accounts for funeral expenses, take a copy of the death certificate with you and the funeral directors bill. I doubt they will release any funds for moving expenses - but keep all receipts for any future probate. Ask at the bank what their amount is for probate as not all banks have the same limit.
Please DO NOT be talked into using their probate service as it is likely to be ITC that deal with it and you just have to read the reviews of ITC on this site to see what type of service and charges you may recieve!
Do probate yourself - it is very easy and very quick and if you are unsure of anything just ring your probate office and they will help you completely free of charge.

msb5262

Hello OP,

Sorry to hear your news.

I have only 2 bits of advice - here goes:

a) get several copies of the death certificate - you need to send them to all sorts of people/companies

b) there's a great book called, "What to do when someone dies" published by Which? consumer guides. Order it from your local library or get your own copy; it's invaluable.

Best wishes

MsB

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Sorry for your family's loss, OP.


As regards the council - all I can suggest is that you contact them and tell them that any such claims will have to be directed to the estate and if there turns out to be one, they will join the queue with everyone else, but considering a dead man (sorry for the bluntness, but it's the only thing that worked for my mother when granddad died) has no income, it would be a bit hard for them to say that he must have the ability to pay full rent for not occupying the property, and they should also consider that as he was in debt at the time of his death, the likelihood of their receiving a penny is unlikely.


Provvy loans are unsecured. There's no way they can go knocking on anyone else's door for the money. So do not worry about them until after all the documents are together and you know what's there and what is outstanding.



Get proper advice, but the only thing I can advise is being quite tough at such a horrible time. And if anyone says something or demands something, tell them that until Probate is granted, nothing can be done, so would they be so kind as to put everything in writing and direct it to the Estate where it will be given due consideration in accordance with the law.

RAS

tuppie

Jojo has given some good advice

Please read the beginning at least of this thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/344578

If your OH's uncle died intestate (no will as you mention none), then either of his sisters can administer the estate.

If he was in receipt of pensions credit and had a Provident loan, then I suspect this comes under the small estate rules, which means that either administrator can access any small bank accounts and pay any debts (or partly pay them) without getting probate.

You really need to get the lowest cost funeral that you can - it is possible to get a grant in some circumstances. Someone wrote on here about a low cost Social Service funeral which cost about £850 and apparently there should be a provider in each area.

I suggest that family get together and remove from the flat everything of personal value (and check things like tea-pots for £20 notes) and everything to do with his accounts.

Work out what money he has in his accounts and whether that will pay for the funeral. If so, get the bill sent to the bank.

The administrators can claim costs, so a van might be appropriate but you need to think about where the stuff will be taken as a lot ot tips refuse vans. If no one in the family wants furniture etc, try the Furniture recycling network, local hospice shop and if push comes to shove if the Council put a note on www.freegle.co.uk or freecycle and tell people to come and take what they want.

As Jojo says, the administrator are NOT responsible for paying the rent, the estate is and if there is no money, tough.

If there is a little money, say £100 and he owes the provident £200 and £100 rent then £66.67 goes to the provo and £33.33 to the Council.

Savvy_Sue

You probably don't HAVE to clear the flat quite as fast as the council say, but you do need to negotiate with them. They will clear the flat themselves if you don't do it within a reasonable agreed time. And rent will be due until that date, but it's due from the estate.

zzzLazyDaisy

If there is no property and only a small amount of money there may be no need to go to probate (although some banks insist on probate anyway).

As another poster said, it is best to get a few copies of the death certificate as many organisations want the original, and you don't want to be hanging around for weeks until one organisation returns it so you can forward it to the next (and it is not unknown for papers to get lost).

Then you need to contact the bank and any other organisation that he may have had financial dealings with (insurances, pensions, utility companies, council tax etc) and inform them of the death. Some will accept the information by a phone call, for others there may be forms to fill in, and you may be required to forward the death certificate, but with a small estate, this should be sufficient.

Do remember to keep all receipts in case there is not enough money to pay everyone, as you will need to show where the money has gone.

But in the end, the creditors can only have what there is. If there is not enough money to go round, the debt dies with your uncle. Be aware that companies sometimes threaten to take relatives to court for a deceased person's debt. They cannot do this - if there is no money in the estate the debt does not pass to anyone else, so don't be bullied.

Starrystarrynight

Sorry to hear of your family's loss, OP.
As another poster already mentioned, each bank seems to have different balance levels at which they will require proof of probate or the letters of administration before releasing funds from the deceased's account(s). I recall filling in what they called a small estates form and presenting it with the death certificate and my birth certificate & passport to prove my relationship.