Dealing with the estate on death

Cool_Hand_85

Firstly, please accept my apologies if this thread is in the wrong forum.

My dad recently died very unexpectedly at the age of 55. I am currently trying to peice together his finances and deal with them accordingly. My mother understandably cannot face this task at the moment and also left the finance side of the relationship completely down to my dad.

I am dealing with these as best i can but at the very least need guidance.

The mortgage is a joint mortgage and so goes into my mothers name. My father had a life assurance policy which as my mother was the sole beneficiary, i believe that also doesn't form part of the estate. The same can be said for pension policies my father had.

He also had a number of credit cards and loans he took out in his name only, i understand that any debts taken out in sole liability cannot be claimed from joint assets?

My question is what exactly forms part of the estate, my father didn't leave any money but the card companies are of course requesting details of the estate, i have no idea how to approach this with them. My parents also had a joint debit account, but all liabilities(cards/loans) are in my dads name only.

I haven't made any legal moves to represent my fathers estate and everything i read suggests that legal help may be needed(i'm hesitent to spend much money on legal fees) am i missing anything, am i ok to deal with his finances on the say so of my mother and other family members?

Any help would be much appreciated, when you're dealing with something like this you start to doubt yourself, i am not thinking clearly at the moment and everything i have read online about this matter seems so robotic and generic.

Thanks again.

CLAPTON

you need to distinguish between that which is outside probabate and that which forms part of the estate for tax and legal purposes

get proper legal advice as his estate can clearly pay his debts

glasgowsaver2011

CLAPTON wrote: »

you need to distinguish between that which is outside probabate and that which forms part of the estate for tax and legal purposes

get proper legal advice as his estate can clearly pay his debts

What he said

Get legal advice

WhiteHorse

To do probate yourself, you really do have to know what you are doing. If not, get a solicitor to do it. They'll charge of course (shop around, they like doing probate), but it may save a lot of time, money and aggravation.

ylesia

So sorry for your loss. I am in the same position as you, my dad passed away at the start of the year. All his debts will need to be paid from the estate, half of the equity in your parents home at the time of death will form part of that estate. As for insurance policies it will be depend who is the 'owner' of the policy as to whether it forms part of the estate, the insurance company will be able to tell you this. As for the pensions, it will depend on how they have been set up and if there any lump sums payable on death eg. If your dad was not in receipt of them yet.

Even for a very simple estate, if a property is involve then you really need legal advice. I have managed to secure PAYG advice rather than the court decided expenses (this is in Scotland) so it is going to work out cheaper but still looking at at least £1000 and my dad only had one bank account, his state pension and half a house (low value) with no mortgage.

I hope it all goes smoothly, once you get some legal advice and have a clearer picture of what is needed then it will get easier.

Cool_Hand_85

Thanks for the words of advice. I was always under the impression that i wouldn't need probate, simply for the reason that everything has been left to my mother. Life assurance was in my mothers name, the mortgage was a joint mortgage and the pension benefits including lump sum of death goes to my mother as sole benificiary.

I was also under the impression that because the debts accrued were taken out in my dads name only, the debts die with him. Monies cannot be taken from the Mortgage as it will now be in my mothers name only, the same for life insurance.

Thanks

CLAPTON

Cool_Hand_85 wrote: »

Thanks for the words of advice. I was always under the impression that i wouldn't need probate, simply for the reason that everything has been left to my mother. Life assurance was in my mothers name, the mortgage was a joint mortgage and the pension benefits including lump sum of death goes to my mother as sole benificiary.

I was also under the impression that because the debts accrued were taken out in my dads name only, the debts die with him. Monies cannot be taken from the Mortgage as it will now be in my mothers name only, the same for life insurance.

Thanks

as I've said probate and the issue of tax and debts are not he same thing.
probate probably doesn't need a solitor but you do need advice about the debts

how much are they ?

noh

Cool_Hand_85 wrote: »

Thanks for the words of advice. I was always under the impression that i wouldn't need probate, simply for the reason that everything has been left to my mother. Life assurance was in my mothers name, the mortgage was a joint mortgage and the pension benefits including lump sum of death goes to my mother as sole benificiary.

I was also under the impression that because the debts accrued were taken out in my dads name only, the debts die with him. Monies cannot be taken from the Mortgage as it will now be in my mothers name only, the same for life insurance.

Thanks

If your Father had no assets at all then that you are correct.
Did he have no bank account, savings, or any posessions at all? Did he own a car for instance?

alanq

Husband and wife are usually "joint tenants".

"
'Joint tenants'

If you were ‘joint tenants’, you owned the whole property together and the deceased person's share passes automatically to you.
But even though it's now in your estate, you can't ignore the debts. Creditors can apply for an 'Insolvency Administration Order' within five years of the death. This can have the effect of dividing the property in two and can force a sale. So it's in your interest to try to come to an agreement with people who are owed money, and try to pay them yourself."
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/DebtsAndArrears/DG_10013093

Probate MAY not be required
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Death/Preparation/DG_10029799

Cool_Hand_85

120k left on mortgage
27k debts

Life assurance worth 100k, lump sum benefit through pension providers 65k + various other bits which could equate to 5k or so. Car worth no more than £1500.

When all is said and done, there should be enough to pay off the mortgage and debts, but i also want to ensure my mother is comfortable in future years.

I have just spoken to the life assurance providers and it would appear as if she hasnt been named as sole beneficiary and i can promise none of us will be contesting. Is this likely to turn into a long drawn out affair, i want to make sure the burden is off my mum(i don't mind taking it for the time being) to ensure she can properly greive without worrying about finances.

creditcardhelp11

Sorry to hear of the tragic loss. It's a grey area. Although the creditors have the right to count the joint tenancy home for the purpose of debts upon death there is no certainty they will (and they must do this within 5 years). You will just have to be honest and open and see what their response is. You could consider offering them say 20% of what is owed to settle now in full and get it in writing (if you are liable). I would also say go and see an IFA to see about investing the money or paying mortgage they should be able to advise which is best. Regarding probate, if your Father had a will and your mother or you were executors and everything is left to your Mother then Probate is an expensive waste of money you can do it yourself. Best of luck.