Mother died with debt and no estate. Help needed

heatherw_01

getmore4less wrote: »

I know this is hard to get your head round but it is not your(or anyones) resonsibility to inform anyone of a death or send death certificates.

Who would tell them she died though if I didn't? Surely they would end up sending requests for payment forever?
I already told them anyway

getmore4less wrote: »

I would step back and have a read of the various guides

allthough most dont cover insolvent estates well so a google might help.

Read many many guides, but none seem to apply. Although some said to tell them all she died so I did

getmore4less wrote: »

The insuraance companies should know who is the benifitiary of the insurnace thats their job.

Why did one ask who it would be paid to?

heatherw_01

Have I made a massive mistake in calling the places to say she died?
I think 1 CC company she is in debt with now has my address and I think her bank does (she wasn't in debt with the bank)

As I said I already informed everyone she died. Some want me to write to them with a death certificate, another is sending me a form to fill in and return.

I told the insurance company it will be paid to be but have't claimed or anything, again they will send a form out.

I just hope I haven't messed up and will get repercussions of doing so.

Mojisola

heatherw_01 wrote: »

Have I made a massive mistake in calling the places to say she died?
I think 1 CC company she is in debt with now has my address and I think her bank does (she wasn't in debt with the bank)

As I said I already informed everyone she died. Some want me to write to them with a death certificate, another is sending me a form to fill in and return.

I told the insurance company it will be paid to be but have't claimed or anything, again they will send a form out.

I just hope I haven't messed up and will get repercussions of doing so.

You're coping with a lot of new stuff while trying to grieve for your Mum. Nothing has to be done in a rush so take a few deep breaths and try not to worry.

You haven't done anything wrong.

There are several options which is why this can all seem so confusing. Also, everyone will be assuming that you are taking on your mother's estate. You don't have to do this.

The insurance policies may be arranged so that they pay out to your mother's account in which case they will form part of her estate. If they are arranged so that they pay out directly to you, they will not be part of her estate but you can still put the money towards her funeral. Use what's in her account and then write a cheque for the difference. You need to ask the insurance company about this.

The funeral director can send an invoice directly to the bank and they will send a cheque back from your mother's account.

After that, you don't have to deal with anything else. Companies that she owes money to will try to pressurise you into dealing with them and paying them money. You don't have to.

As they have your details, you will start to get letters and/or phone calls from them. Write a short letter saying that your mother died but you are not dealing with the estate and tell them to stop contacting you. Keep something similar by the phone so that you can say the same thing. Don't get caught up in discussions about the problem. It is their problem and not yours.

hcb42

Sorry for your loss.

you havent made a massive mistake, you have informed them, that is the right/normal thing to do.

I was in a similar situation this year too, sister died, similar debt situation, we did write to everyone, sent death cert to those who requested it, some organisations really easy to deal with, others (notably NPOWER in my case) were/are a nightmare, but at the end of the day there is nothing in the estate to deal with the debt, and you do not have to do anything regarding probate etc, as there is nothing really to administer, other than perhaps writing a few letters/making phone calls as a courtesy and what you have already done.

just take it one day a time, concentrate on the funeral side, and dont worry about the paperwork, nothing you can do to change that.

heatherw_01

I am concentrating on the funeral but can't do much until I get a death certificate.

I was more trying to figure out the insurance policies and how to pay for the funeral with it and give the rest to the people she was in debt with.

In regards to paying the insurance to her bank, that has been frozen as I told them she died. She only have a post office card cash account still open so I don't think I can do it that way? Unless they insurance companies can pay into a frozen bank account? But then I couldn't get the amount for the funeral out?

If I had the insurance paid to me, pay for the funeral, then with the rest write a cheque to give the rest back but to where? The creditors? My mums bank account? (that is frozen though)

hardpressed

Don't make any funeral arrangements untill you know where the money is coming from to pay for it. Whoever arranges a funeral is responsible for paying for it, so unless you can afford it, wait untill you know when the insurances will pay out and to whom. Take your time, there is no hurry.

eamon

Have a look through this link I'm sure most of your questions re the process & procedure can be found there
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4216467

heatherw_01

eamon wrote: »

Have a look through this link I'm sure most of your questions re the process & procedure can be found there
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4216467

Already had a look at that. Not much of the information applies to this situation

getmore4less

Thats the problem with most guides that all asume there will be someone that has an interest in getting the estate sorted, usualy a benifitiary or someone prepared to act for them.

With insolvent estates the only people that have an interest in sorting out an estate are the creditors.

Where the likely returns are very low like this one any professional intervention will eat up any money that is left after the funeral costs so not worth bothering.

I tried to find something that cover this type of estate but most insolvent estate guides cover the case where there are assets so need more care, like this one
http://www.bereavementadvice.org/probate-and-other-legal-procedures/insolventestates.php

even that one misses out the option to apply for an insolvency administration order
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/insmanual/ins1703.htm

None seem to mention that getting involved is a personal choice, no one legaly obliged to take on an estate not even named executors in a will.

Mojisola

heatherw_01 wrote: »

I am concentrating on the funeral but can't do much until I get a death certificate.

Don't try to rush anything.

No-one expects an estate to be dealt with quickly so don't succumb to pressure. Just tell any businesses who contact you that you will get back to them when you know something.

Get the death certificate and find out from the insurance companies whether the payout is going to be directly to you or to your mother's estate. Once you know where you stand with the money you can make decisions about the funeral.

Don't worry about anything else until after the funeral. Dealing with all the admin after a death is very hard because it's likely that you won't be thinking straight. My Mum died very suddenly this summer and I was so grateful that my siblings were able to share the load with me. I would have struggled coping with it all on my own.

A lot of registrars offer a "tell us once" service - https://www.gov.uk/tell-us-once - this helps reduce what you have to do.