Mother gifted car 6 weeks before death to sibling and there is no money for funeral

bazneol

My mother has recently passed away and she apparently gifted her car to my brother 6 weeks before she died. She had cancer and was on morphine and it is not clear if the cancer was in her brain or not. I do not think she can have fully understood what she was doing and if she had wanted to give anything to my brother she could have done it in a will. However I know she owes money and has left no provision for funeral and the car was her only asset. My questions are

1. Can you give an asset away when you owe money.

2. I know a gift can be given at anytime and that ill people do give gifts but would I be able to challenging the way it was done and that I don't feel my mother could of fully understand what she was doing.
.
3. Do relatives have to pay for funeral if there is no money in the estate.

4. I suspect fraud is there anything i can do

5. Plus my brother has copy of death certificate and I know the solicitor has a will. Will the solicitor deal with me before he sees the death certificate, I need to take action fast my brother is trying to sell car and I want to stop it happening before the will can be seen (I think my brother will delay going to solicitors with death cert because he knows he is not in the will)

Any help much appreciated. As it stands I am saying that the council can take over the funeral in the hope that they will be able to recover the costs from my brother. Because even though he is selling the car he is doing it to keep the money not to pay for funeral. Also I believe he is still drawing money from my mothers bank account.

meritaten

If there is a will hun then see a solicitor ASAP - ask around for one which will give you a free short consultation.
firstly, if bro claims that the car was given to him some weeks before your mum died - then its going to be very difficult to prove it was anything other than a gift!
If your bro isnt named in the will - (as I understand it) - why would a solicitor deal with HIM?
are you named in the will? executor? beneficiary? both? then the solicitor would be dealing with you.
he cannot draw money from your mums bank account if she has died - that is illegal! are the bank aware of the facts? if not phone them and tell them who is executor. if its your bro then he has to account for the money to the solicitors.
I think thats all I can help with for now - wiser heads than mine will prob be along soon. but I think from past experience that I am right so far!
I am so sorry for the loss of your mum - and I hope you get the financial matters sorted out.
btw - I think you may have to apply for help for funeral costs - I am not sure where, perhaps the 'wiser heads' will know.

bazneol

Until tomorrow I have no idea who is executer of the will. I am only guessing my brother is not named in will because the will was done at a time my brother and mother had fallen out over a £3000 loan my brother took out and my mother signed as guarantor. My brother made no payments so mother has to pay debt because baliffs came to her when he didn't pay. Mother and brother didn't speak for a year and just recently started speaking again.

When mother was diagnosed with cancer 2 months ago brother stepped in and offered to look after her. I thought maybe it was to make up for the past but I also wondered if money/benefits were the reason. I never spoke to mother about will it just didn't seem right and practically from the minute she was diagnosed and put on morphine, it was difficult to have converstations that made much sense.

I let my brother get the death certificate and now I worry that he won't hand it in to solicitors straight away. I asked him for a copy today and he said he only he had one copy and wouldn't give it me. It's a terrible situation made even more terrible by the fact the solicitors have been shut over the xmas period.

meritaten

a death certificate is a matter of public record hun. go to the local registry office and ask for a copy for yourself. it will cost a few pounds. but this shouldnt really be necessary.
the solicitors should be open tomorrow - if you know who dealt with the will, all you have to do is ring them and inform them of your mums death and ask to speak to whoever drew up the will for her. if you are named they will certainly speak to you.

Alias_Omega

Speak to your brother.

If you say there is no cash in the pot to pay for the funeral, then there is no cash. If your brother asks you to pay some of the funding, just refer him to your mums car.

I cannot see why you should fall out with your brother over money.

Family first, Money second.

DUTR

bazneol wrote: »

Until tomorrow I have no idea who is executer of the will. I am only guessing my brother is not named in will because the will was done at a time my brother and mother had fallen out over a £3000 loan my brother took out and my mother signed as guarantor. My brother made no payments so mother has to pay debt because baliffs came to her when he didn't pay. Mother and brother didn't speak for a year and just recently started speaking again.

When mother was diagnosed with cancer 2 months ago brother stepped in and offered to look after her. I thought maybe it was to make up for the past but I also wondered if money/benefits were the reason. I never spoke to mother about will it just didn't seem right and practically from the minute she was diagnosed and put on morphine, it was difficult to have converstations that made much sense.

I let my brother get the death certificate and now I worry that he won't hand it in to solicitors straight away. I asked him for a copy today and he said he only he had one copy and wouldn't give it me. It's a terrible situation made even more terrible by the fact the solicitors have been shut over the xmas period.

Listen to what Meirtaten is saying, and stop fogging the issue with the brother, sibling rivalry *sigh* all the petty stuff does not matter right now, give your Mum a pleasant sending off, she has suffered enough and now she has no physical pain, I do not know her but I am sure she would not want her offspring still fighting :eek:

seabright

It sounds like an insolvent estate. Did she own her own home? I guess not from what you said. You might find the CAB is better for initial advice, as most solicitors won't take on an insolvant estate unless you guarantee payment, personally. Normally they would be paid from the estate funds.

There is a funeral grant (again CAB will help) but it will only pay towards the most basic of funerals. If you want anything on top of that, you will have to pay.

I'm sorry for your loss.

bazneol

I have spoke to my brother and he doesn't want to pay for funeral with the money from car £5000 what the car is worth. He just sees it as mother wanted him to have the car so why should he use it to pay for funeral. My mother also had debts so I'm sure creditors may not take to kindly to the one asset being disposed of.

I can not fund somebodys lifestyle just because they are family. If my brother has no morals then he also has no sister. This is not the first act of theft/fraud from a family member but it will be the last!

DUTR

bazneol wrote: »

I have spoke to my brother and he doesn't want to pay for funeral with the money from car £5000 what the car is worth. He just sees it as mother wanted him to have the car so why should he use it to pay for funeral. My mother also had debts so I'm sure creditors may not take to kindly to the one asset being disposed of.

I can not fund somebodys lifestyle just because they are family. If my brother has no morals then he also has no sister. This is not the first act of theft/fraud from a family member but it will be the last!

Has the paperwork for the car been transferred over? If not the car is till belonging to your Mum.

meritaten

bazneol - I understand you are very upset hun. I feel for you, really I do.
now, calm down, deep breaths!!!! ok?
firstly, this is a very emotional time for you - you are worried sick that you will have to pay for the funeral and you feel your bro has 'stolen' from the estate. You know your mum has debts and you are worried there.
firstly, you say mum left a will - that implies there was something to leave - it may be insurance policies or something mum felt was valuable. do you know who the solicitors would be? if they drew the will up they will know whether mum had policies in place to pay for the funeral. also who is named in the will. Now, you need to speak to them!
Take things a step at a time hun - the funeral directors wont press you for money yet. they understand that these things take time.
if you think that bro has withdrawn cash from mums account - first thing to do is to advise the bank of mums death and the date of death.
Do you have access to mums house? if so then go over and inventory it! look for any policies which would pay out and make a note of them. and make sure that no-one else can access it!
after that and speaking to the solicitors (if any) come back. because quite frankly - you are dealing with enough without thinking too far forward!

Gigglepig

Sorry to hear about your loss.

If there is no money left after your mum to pay for funeral costs, and she has debts, perhaps leave it to the creditors whether or not they want to potentially contest the car gift? It is not worth falling out with a brother over...

if your mum gave him the car then it is a bit harsh to accuse him of theft or fraud...