Bereavement / debt repayment request

pph

Hi, my mother-in law passed away in January. :sad:

She owed £600 on her credit card, I sent them death certificate and are asking for money from the deceased’s estate. She left no will, retired early because of ill health, didn’t own a home, was on disability allowance and had *very* little savings. She left her one and only child £1000.

I understand the principle that debts are passed onto the deceased’s estate.

So I would like to politely let them know that I don’t think her grieving daughter should be receiving letters like this and they should write the debt off. It’s a brand with a good reputation (am I allowed to say?) so they may look kindly on the idea.

Anyone with any experience / advice please? Thanks in advance.

molerat

Sorry for your loss.

The £1000 should not pass to the child until her estate is settled, debts etc come before any inheritance. How much is "very little savings", the first allocation of any money in the estate should be for the funeral expenses. Repayment of overpaid benefits, taxes and debts all come before inheritance. IMO write off should only be requested if there is genuinely not enough in the estate to pay off the debt.

InsideInsurance

pph wrote: »

So I would like to politely let them know that I don’t think her grieving daughter should be receiving letters like this and they should write the debt off. It’s a brand with a good reputation (am I allowed to say?) so they may look kindly on the idea.

Anyone with any experience / advice please? Thanks in advance.

Who do you think they should be contacting about it?

The law is clear and there are clear pecking orders on who gets paid when the estate is insufficient to cover everything that had been promised by the diseased.

You can ask for a guesture of goodwill but are highly unlikely to receive it. If you dont want them writing to those managing the estate then its your MP that you should be petitioning to change the law

[Deleted User]

If she left no will, she didn't leave her child anything.

The child is only getting the money because of the laws of intestacy.

Paying off the debt comes before any inheritance.

shortcrust

Sorry, but an injection of reality is needed. Their reputation isn't going to be damaged by this. They recover money from the estates of deceased customers every day. There's always business to be done when people die and it's always painful. When you're grieving it seem like a terrible intrusion but you just have to get on with it, or pay someone else to get on with it for you. The credit card company are just doing their job.

g6jns_2

pph wrote: »

Hi, my mother-in law passed away in January. :sad:

She owed £600 on her credit card, I sent them death certificate and are asking for money from the deceased’s estate. She left no will, retired early because of ill health, didn’t own a home, was on disability allowance and had *very* little savings. She left her one and only child £1000.

I understand the principle that debts are passed onto the deceased’s estate.

So I would like to politely let them know that I don’t think her grieving daughter should be receiving letters like this and they should write the debt off. It’s a brand with a good reputation (am I allowed to say?) so they may look kindly on the idea.

Anyone with any experience / advice please? Thanks in advance.

If there is no will then there is no bequest of £1,000.
The funeral costs take precedent then any other debts. From what you say the estate may be insolvent. Check the notes on the Deaths Funeral and Probate.

PeacefulWaters

pph wrote: »

She owed £600 on her credit card, I sent them death certificate and are asking for money from the deceased’s estate.

This is perfectly reasonable.

She left no will, retired early because of ill health, didn’t own a home, was on disability allowance and had *very* little savings. She left her one and only child £1000.

I think you need to clarify this. If there's no will, how has she managed to leave somebody £1,000? Do you mean that her estate has £1,000 left over after funeral costs?

I understand the principle that debts are passed onto the deceased’s estate.

Good.

So I would like to politely let them know that I don’t think her grieving daughter should be receiving letters like this

Who should they send the letter to?

and they should write the debt off. It’s a brand with a good reputation (am I allowed to say?) so they may look kindly on the idea.

Anyone with any experience / advice please? Thanks in advance.

Where should the draw the line? If the money is owed and there are funds in the estate to pay then it should be paid.

If it was £6,000 and the estate was worth £10,000 should they write that off?

£60,000 and £100,000?

Why should other customers and shareholders of Barclays subsidise this situation? What makes it special?

Bereavement is difficult. But if you look at this in the cold light of day you're effectively saying lenders should write off debts when there's money in the estate to settle.

I can't say that I think that's fair.

amersall

Was there PPI on this card?, just a thought.

redpete

Was the £1000 to the daughter before or after the funeral was paid for?

If the former then maybe you could legitimately tell the CC company that after funeral expenses there is nothing more left in the estate to pay the debt.

If the latter then the CC debt should be paid off before the daughter gets any money.

dresdendave

redpete wrote: »

Was the £1000 to the daughter before or after the funeral was paid for?
.

It's difficult to comment on the £1000 bequest without clarification from the OP. If there is no will, this bequest appears to be just hearsay or gossip.


Despite several posters raising this point the OP doesn't appear to have any desire to provide clarification.

bris

The executor can be held personally liable for any mistakes so you need to clear the debts before paying out the savings.