Intestacy, debt and other problems

pmlindyloo

worry_warrior wrote: »

My oldest friend is in very poor health and not expected to last long, 51 yrs old, £90k in credit card debt, no assets of any kind except a private pension pot of £30k, 3 children in their 20s with their own families and expenses, he's unemployed and on sickness benefits and has no Will.
He's a lovely guy and was doing great up till 8 yrs ago when the health problems started, he lost his career and the debts mounted.
I am in no position to help him financially which he knows but I said I would ask the following as he doesnt have internet access.
If he was to die as a result of his health problems how would his estate be wound up? And by whom?
How would his funeral be funded and would it be a paupers funeral? Would the family have any say in this or be able to just provide a decent funeral without any further liability?
Would his children or remaining sister be liable for any expenses?
He reckons his debts will die with him. Is that correct?
What would happen to the property he owns at his rented flat?
Would he be able to appoint a solicitor as draw up a will and would they act as executor if there was nothing left to pay their fees?
He has named his children as next of kin on his pension. Would they get anything from that or could the estate claim it as theirs?
Any advice would help,

Personally I would be advising your friend to get his debts sorted out now.

CAP (Christians Against Poverty) a free debt advice service will visit and sort out these debts for him. They will probably advise him to pay a token gesture of £1 a week towards them and also explain the current circumstances. This will have the effect of all the creditors being aware of the situation - some may even write off the debt - which would make any actions after his death (sorry) far easier to deal with - a copy of the death certificate would probably suffice. Plus, doing this now may give the poor man some relief that he had done his best to control the situation.

Do make sure that he is receiving all the benefits that he is entitled to. If he is receiving DLA they should be notified of a change of circumstances and if he has a terminal illness then he should be transferred to the highest rate of care/mobility. Ditto for ESA - he should be transferred to the Support group. His doctor should complete the relevant forms. Telephone Job Centre Plus to get more information.

g6jns_2

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Personally I would be advising your friend to get his debts sorted out now.

CAP (Christians Against Poverty) a free debt advice service will visit and sort out these debts for him. They will probably advise him to pay a token gesture of £1 a week towards them and also explain the current circumstances. This will have the effect of all the creditors being aware of the situation - some may even write off the debt - which would make any actions after his death (sorry) far easier to deal with - a copy of the death certificate would probably suffice. Plus, doing this now may give the poor man some relief that he had done his best to control the situation.

Do make sure that he is receiving all the benefits that he is entitled to. If he is receiving DLA they should be notified of a change of circumstances and if he has a terminal illness then he should be transferred to the highest rate of care/mobility. Ditto for ESA - he should be transferred to the Support group. His doctor should complete the relevant forms. Telephone Job Centre Plus to get more information.

How exactly do you think the impact of £1 per week will have on a debt of £90,000?

Mojisola

g6jns wrote: »

How exactly do you think the impact of £1 per week will have on a debt of £90,000?

It would mean that all the sorting out of the debts is done in advance of the death so that all the creditors will be aware that the estate is intestate and they will be wasting their time pursuing the matter.

pmlindyloo's suggestion would make life a little easier for the relative's of the deceased.

qwert_yuiop

The only debts that die with you are gambling debts, and that's only in Northern Ireland - I believe the rest if the uk adjusted this to make even these debts enforceable, ni hasn't got round to it.

Credit card companies will most definitely be looking for their debts. It happens a lot.

qwert_yuiop

worry_warrior wrote: »

g6jns, thanks but what will happen to the credit card debts? The thing I was most certain of was that they would die with him.

If this were true, every one with a terminal disease would be on a wild spending spree.

Mojisola

qwert_yuiop wrote: »

If this were true, every one with a terminal disease would be on a wild spending spree.

If there isn't enough money left to pay the debts, they can't be paid.

g6jns_2

Mojisola wrote: »

It would mean that all the sorting out of the debts is done in advance of the death so that all the creditors will be aware that the estate is intestate and they will be wasting their time pursuing the matter.

pmlindyloo's suggestion would make life a little easier for the relative's of the deceased.

Very unlikely. It may well mean creditors start taking action before the poor maan is dead. Far better to say nothing at this stage.

Mojisola

g6jns wrote: »

Very unlikely. It may well mean creditors start taking action before the poor maan is dead. Far better to say nothing at this stage.

Not if he goes through one of the debt charities.

pmlindyloo

g6jns wrote: »

Very unlikely. It may well mean creditors start taking action before the poor maan is dead. Far better to say nothing at this stage.

With £90000 of credit debt it is extremely unlikely that the OP's friend would be servicing these debts anyway as he is only on benefits. Any action to be taken would most likely already have begun.

My suggestion is that the OP's friend gets someone to sort this out for him to take some of the pressure off him.

Not all creditors are devoid of compassion.

What most creditors do dislike is being ignored. Once they are aware of all the circumstances they at least get a chance to show some compassion. Extreme measures such as bankruptcy, for example, would not be worth their while and CAP could argue this for him.

pollypenny

If the estate is insolvent, surely the children are not liable for the credit card debt.

They are not inheriting anything.