Dad Recently Passed Away with No Will

Yorkshireman99

chrisb1357 wrote: »

Will be calling them Monday for Mum as we have the Funeral on Wed and a Service on Fri next week.


Am a little confused with when you say not to apply for letters of administration but instead let the creditors deal directly with the pension service???


Sorry about sounding like I don't know much. Am very confused with all this at the minute and wish I could just get someone to help sort it all out for me


Chris

Letters of administration are the way authority is given to administer an estate where there is no will. If an estate has debts that exceed the assets then it is called insolvent. The standard advice is not to take on the administration of an insolvent estate. So in your case do nothing except tell any creditors that there is no money. Unless your mum had any joint loans she is not liable for any of the debts.

chrisb1357

But does the pensions my dad had which will goto my mum not count as the estate and is the death in service also not counted

Yorkshireman99

chrisb1357 wrote: »

But does the pensions my dad had which will goto my mum not count as the estate and is the death in service also not counted

They do not normally count but you need to check with them.
I would not contact STEP until you know the pension position.

chrisb1357

So do you mean check with StepChange on this??


Managed to get a StepChange statement printed today so going to call them on Monday to discuss

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

They do not normally count but you need to check with them.

Yorkshireman99

Check with the pension people and about the death in service amouIf it does fall into the estate then the estate may not be insolvent.

getmore4less

The enquiries and notifications are independent and need to be done in parallel.

You need to stop Step change taking and distributing any more money until the status of the debts are known and if any are joint.

When is the next payment due?

If the money is coming out of a joint account via standing order or Direct debit they may still take it even if the account is changed to single name and it will be a hassle getting it back.

Finding out about the pensions will be an independent task.
It may be their default response is we need the grant but that may not be absolutely necessary once the details are known.
It is fairly common for pensions to be held in trust and not form part of the estate.

it is worth checking where the divide is between making investigations and dealing with estate(also known as intermeddling) to avoid accidently becoming an administrator by default.

chrisb1357

AM still not sure where to start so I think I best to speak to a specialist about this all and see what they suggest

Yorkshireman99

chrisb1357 wrote: »

AM still not sure where to start so I think I best to speak to a specialist about this all and see what they suggest

In summary. Don't contact STEP yet. check bank has stopped any standing orders or Direct Debits to STEP. Phone the private pensions or late dad's employer for details on the money payable. When you have done that come back withe answers.

chrisb1357

Do I need to still find out the debts on the DMP if they are sole or joint with mum and any other debts like credit cards???

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

In summary. Don't contact STEP yet. check bank has stopped any standing orders or Direct Debits to STEP. Phone the private pensions or late dad's employer for details on the money payable. When you have done that come back withe answers.

Yorkshireman99

chrisb1357 wrote: »

Do I need to still find out the debts on the DMP if they are sole or joint with mum and any other debts like credit cards???

You need to sit down systematically record all the information you can. Only debts your late father owed are relevant but you do need to check if any debts or accounts are joint. Take your time but it is important that you go through it all systematically. You might want to ask the CAB for some guidance.