Any advice appreciated please

Clarey22

Hello - this is my first post and was just after some advice please. My father in law has recently lost his job, well he is technically self-employed however the other guy he has always worked with (the last 35 years) has now decided to retire and as my father in law only worked with him and didn't have his own private work it has left him without a job. My mother and father inlaw have always struggled with money and me and my husband suspect they may be in more debt than they care to let on about. He has tried to talk to them and say that they need to speak to someone about benefits they could be getting but it keeps falling on deaf ears. My father in laws 'boss' did give him £5000 as a thankyou/redundancy gift so we know at least they have that but I'm worried if they bury their heads in the sand and don't start looking at sorting out debts or finding out what they're entitled to, all that money will be used with nothing to show for it in the long run. Before I was with my husband he took out a loan for £3000 to help his mum and dad out once when balliffs arrived at the house but only received £200 back as they couldn't afford to pay him. His brother has also lent money in the past and is quite adamant this time that he is not going to get involved. I just wondered if anyone could offer advice as to how we can help them without being too interferring! Sorry for the lengthy post - thanks for any help.

brainfreeze

I'm very new to these boards myself but have a history in banking and finance. I think anyone would find it difficult to advise you with such limited information.

You don't actually know whether they have debt problems or not (although from what you say it is very likely). Do they own their home (if so with or without a mortgage), are they tenants etc. Without basic information its impossible to help.

I don't think you can offer help without appearing too interfering. If your DH and his brother are really concerned they need to talk to their parents and explain their concerns and that they want to help by ensuring they claim all the benefits, but make it clear that financial help is not on the cards (if that's the case).

Other members of MSE may have more appropriate advice than me though.

Good luck

beanielou

Hi 7 welcome
You could try to persuade them to go to CAB if they do indeed have dedt issues.
Hope it works out.

Clarey22

Sorry I should have given more details. They are council house tenants so no mortgage to worry about, we know they have a car loan which his mum did say that had payment protection insurance on so hopefully that is ok. My husband said that his mum and dad seem to keep their own bills seperate rather than putting it all in together and his mum pays for electric and gas, credit cards and catalogues whereas his dad pays the car loan, rent, council tax and other bits, but no we don't know what the actual debt situation so can't be accurate. Another reason we are worrying though is that his Mum currently works part time but hasn't been well lately, she is due to have an operation in about 6 months (depending on waiting list) which will mean she will be off work for some time after as well so obviously her income will be affected too.