berevment

smudger1946

Dear all,
My partners son has been found dead.

We went to the bank to cancel any activity on his account etc.

The bank told my partner she was not next of kin, one of his sons is next of kin, so my partner has no say in his matters, although she went to the bank to stop any activity in his bank/ credit card accounts, which they did.
She just got a statement in from the bank asking for a minimum payment on the sons credit card account, she was fuming as you could imagine.
Any advice please? She cant and wont pay any of his debts.

Thanks

Guest101

Next of kin means nothing. Don't worry about that.

The debt is part of the estate. Whoever is the executor of the will, will deal with that.

Condolences for your loss

choille

So sorry for the loss.

Good for you cancelling the bank activity. It sounds as if you expect some trouble.

It's very difficult when someone dies that is closely related, but harder still if there is any difficulty with other family members. There is a need to have some clarity as who is the next of kin because of funeral arrangements etc. Could you contact the son & see if things can be talked through, or would it be better to get a solicitor or Citizen's Advice to clarify things?

mum2one

Sorry for what you are going throu, I lost my dad just under 2 weeks ago and have been executor of the will, as for next of kin - that is my mum.

As for the credit card - if your partner got the statement - did the so live at home?

Theres a 1001 questions that will be flying around, for now...

Who is next of kin?
Was there a will ? -
Executor - can be next of kin,

As for the credit card - what I would do is notify them of your sons death, then who ever is dealing with it, will need to send a copy of the death cert to card company (or local branch if bank with branches).

If there was a bank account at same place as card held - then any positive balance will be transferred off the balance of credit card - any insurances etc - after paying the funeral - will be expected to go towards debt repayment x

Tiddlywinks

smudger1946 wrote: »

She just got a statement in from the bank asking for a minimum payment on the sons credit card account, she was fuming as you could imagine.
Any advice please? She cant and wont pay any of his debts.

Firstly, my condolences to you and your partner...

I think your partner needs to take a step back from sorting out the finances etc as she is not the next of kin nor is she an executor of the estate.

Whomever is the nominated executor will need to establish all debts owed from and monies due to the estate and then act accordingly from there.

As to being angry about the credit card statement - the banks will still produce statements etc and send them out... your partner just needs to pass anything received to the nominated executor.

The deceased's debts are due from the estate - not from any individual.

Just encourage your partner to look after herself whilst dealing with her loss - leave the admin to someone else.

smudger1946

Thanks to you all for your help and advice it has been very helpful.
The whole thing is a tangle right now,but it will all be sorted in time.
The bank were pretty quick of the mark, the boys only been gone two weeks, the funeral is next week.
Many thanks again.

Rain_Shadow

smudger1946 wrote: »

Thanks to you all for your help and advice it has been very helpful.
The whole thing is a tangle right now,but it will all be sorted in time.
The bank were pretty quick of the mark, the boys only been gone two weeks, the funeral is next week.
Many thanks again.

They are. Customers die every day. It's important that they act quickly to safeguard the accounts. The credit card should freeze the account awaiting payment from the estate. When my father died I received a couple of statements showing non-payment etc. I was advised to ignore them as they were automatically generated.

TBagpuss

I'm sorry for your loss.
Your partner is not liable for her son's debts, she would only be liable if any debt were in joint names or if she had signed as a guarantor.
If her son left a will, then the executor is repsonsible for dealing with his assets and using them to pay off any debts. If he did not leave a will, then someone can apply for Letters of Administration - this would usually be the perosn who is entitled to his estate under the intestacy rules, so his son (or if the son is a minor, son's mother on his behalf)

Notifying organisatins of his death is not normally considered 'intermeddling' with an estate so would not make your partner liable for debts, but it could result in companies persuing her if hers is the name they have, so it would probably be best for her to leave that to the Executor or Administrator. If she does notify anyone (such as the credit card co.) of his death I'd suggest that she says "I'm letting you know that he has died. I believe that [name] will be the executor, you will ned to contact them for more details" or "as his mother I am informing you of his death, as a courtesy, but I am not his executor and am not dealing with his estate"
Do the same if she writes to anyone to inform them.