Help with Debt & Death

HOGOGG

I was hoping someone would be able to give me some advise, My Brother has just died and i have spent all day going through his paperwork to find he has been living above his means, he has a £45k Mortgage o/s but i have managed to find an endowlement policy for £45k which hopefully will cover this, however i have also found :-

£15k Loan with Barclays
£19k Loan with Halifax
£25k Loan with Halifax
£16K Loan with HFC Bank
£13k Loan with Capital One
MBNA Credit Card £6k outstanding
Barclaycard 1 - £12k outstanding
Barclaycard 2 - £9k outstanding
Car Finace £13k to pay

Hi Current account is -£1486 overdrawn and approx 15 diret debits are coming out each week for different Bills, The house is only worth about £85k and the car is a wreck.

I'm really worried as to what to do , the funeral bill will be approx £2.5k, he only died a couple of days ago so i have not had chance to contact any of the banks over the weekend, i can't see any life policies or protection on any of the loans.

Can you make a deceased person bankcrupt ?, do debts die with people,any help would be appreciated as all i can do is worry at the moment.:o

Sea78

Hi
I can't help on this but just wanted to send you lots of hugs and that I hope you manage to sort all this out. I'm sure you'll get lots of help and support from the board.
Sea xxx

smilealot

Hello HOGOGG,

Unfortunately I don't know that answers to any of your questions, but I wanted to say how sorry I am to hear of your loss. I'm sure the financial issues are not helping you during this hard time. Hopefully someone on here can help you very soon.

Take care, my thoughts are with you.

smilealot

joeblack066

***HUGS***, someone will be along soon to help you, just wanted to say sorry for your loss.

tanith

Do you know if your brother left a will? It could be with a solicitor if you haven't found one in his home....

Sorry for your loss its not easy dealing with this sort of thing... I hope all goes well...

My understanding is that all debts must be paid with any assets your brother has, house , inurances, property, savings etc etc. If there is not enough to pay them all there is a list of priorities here...... http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/RightsAndResponsibilities/Death/BenefitsAndMoney/DG_10029657

rog2

Hi HOGOGG

Firstly, please accept my sincere condolences for the loss of your brother.
Secondly, you have more pressing things to worry about than the outstanding debts.
The funeral is your first priority - sorting out the finances can wait a couple of weeks.
You WILL need some professional advice, either from a Solicitor (if there is a will) or from an organisation such as the Citizens' Advice Bureau. May I suggest that you take independent advice BEFORE contacting the Creditors.
These people can advise regarding the estate, and can check out the individual credit agreements to see if they have cover in the event of death.
But just now your priority must be the funeral and your personal grief.

mitty_2

Really sorry about your brother.
Dont worry, I'm absolutely certain that debts die with you, as someone has said anything left in his estate (house etc) will be used towards his debts, but if there is not enough, they cant come after you or any other family members (assuming that he didnt have a partner, or loans in joint names or with a guarantor).
Hang in there & take care.

chevalier

Hi there
Very sorry to hear of your loss.

Does your brother have a will? If yes does it say who the executor(s) is/are? If yes then they should be handling all this. Sometimes one of the executors is a solicitor (to do the probate), and they maybe able to advise you.

However I THINK that what happens is this. The endowment pays off the mortgage (assuming it has performed as expected). This leave the 85k house free and clear to the estate of your brother.

But some of the debtors may make a claim on the estate to regain their money. (Also as you have mentioned he may have had some form of life insurance from them too to pay of his debt.) So that money would be taken off the total worth of the estate before any of it was passed on the to the beneficiary(s) of the will.

So I think that you don't have to repay this, and maybe some creditors may write off the debt once you have proved to them that he is dead (ie send of a certified copy of the debt certificate).

So as I understand it if all of them claimed, the house would be sold, the creditors paid off, and any left over given to the beneficiaries of the estate.

You REALLY need to speak to a solicitor though ASAP, so that you can get accurate advice about this. Because I have heard in the past of less scrupulous companies, persuing a debt of a deceased person, and getting relatives to pay up (ie NOT from the estate), because the relative was hoodwinked into paying.

sorry that I can't be more specific. Please speak to a solicitor asap on Monday
Again my condolences
chev

hypno06

Hi there and sorry that you are having to post about this.

As Tanith has said above, the proceeds from the house and any insurance will be used to pay the debts and if there is not enough then things will be done in priority with the remainder having to be written off by the creditors.

Please please please do not worry about this at this time. When you are able to start sorting practicalities out next week when banks etc open, they will be (in my experience) helpful and practical and will give plenty of time for things to be sold in order to raise the money etc. You should find that they all freeze interest automatically so that at least the debt does not increase, and if they do not offer it, you should ask for it.

The most important thing for you is to do what YOU need to do. Debts can wait, grieving can't always.

Alfie_E

HOGOGG wrote: »

I'm really worried as to what to do , the funeral bill will be approx £2.5k…

Don’t worry about this too much. Once the mortgage has been cleared, the costs associated with death come next. That includes the funeral expenses. So, if there were only £2500 left that would go to pay the funeral directors, or paying back someone who’s already paid it, before Barclays, Halifax, etc. even get a look in.

HOGOGG wrote: »

Can you make a deceased person bankcrupt ?

You can’t make a deceased person bankrupt. However, it is possible to get a court to declare them insolvent, as at the date of death. I believe a creditor would only do this to allow them to make a claim against the deceased’s share of a joint assent. Say, for example, the deceased jointly owned a house.

As other posters have said, debts that occurred before death can’t be passed on to anyone else. Once any company receives a death certificate, they should be reasonably helpful. Any that aren’t will need to be reminded that dealing with the affairs of someone who’s died is a slow process, the law acknowledges this and they’re just going to have to wait.

HOGOGG

Thank you all so much for your helpfull & kind replies, there was no Will left and he has no other family, i slept a little better last night ,i will visit the banks first thing Monday morning and just notify them, i guess if they can freeze the accounts at least no more interest will be added and i can sort the house out after the funeral, Thanks again x