Sudden Death and Debt

micky2phones

Deleted User wrote: »

They're not really doing their job to say the son is liable. To say that is legally wrong. As mentioned, only if he was a guarantor or if he was executor would he be involved in paying Barclays anything. Barclays are the cowpat of banks.

Hi, Thier job as to see if there was an estate and ask for a debt to be paid. That is not legally wrong.

As its already said the op wont have to pay anyway

sourcrates

Barclays will be well aware of the law regarding this matter.

The OP states "Barclays have said the son is liable" ?

Have they really put this in writing ? Or is it just an assumption on your/there part ?

Debts are unique to the person, and can't be transferred, (certain exemptions apply), they know this perfectly well.

I would do as advised above, and also put in a written complaint about there unethical behaviour.

-taff

micky2phones wrote: »

Hi, Thier job as to see if there was an estate and ask for a debt to be paid. That is not legally wrong.

unless they tell the son he is liable

tallyhoh

All we had to do when FIL died is fill a form in for HSBC listing any money he left which was a small insurance. The funeral should be first paid then any debts. There was no money after funeral expenses so HSBC just wrote off the debt. Son is in NO way responsible

[Deleted User]

Mick2pho, it is legally wrong because the OP said the bank said the son is liable. He is not legally liable and they know it!

yellow218

went through a similar situation myself recently.

The estate is liable for the debts, not the son directly. The banks shouldn't be charging interest since the date they were informed of the death, but the debt still remains unpaid.
The pension is part of the estate. You may find that the credtiors will require payment from that, somehow, a payment plan may need to be agreed,

Probate is required to deal with the estate, a will will detail the execetor(s). If they died without a will, an administrator will need to be found. This can be the son. If the son, he will have to swear an oath promising he will settle the estate, and therefore has a legal duty to ensure all debts are settled SOMEHOW and any remaining assets are divided between the beneficiaries.

Although there were debts, were there any assets? If so, these will need to be sold to settle debts.

Id recommend getting in touch with a good solicitor who specialises in probate. Although they will charge (try to agree a fee in advance) they will be able to support the process, and could act as the administrator. Sometimes having someone who isn't grieving as the one sorting out the estate can be a good thing. It's hard having to deal with grief anyway, finding out challenging things about how your loved one lived their life can be even harder.


Best of luck at this difficult time.

-taff

yellow218 wrote: »

he will have to swear an oath promising he will settle the estate, and therefore has a legal duty to ensure all debts are settled SOMEHOW.

Please don't scare the poo out of the OP.
He does not have to ensure the debts are paid 'somehow'. He has to distribute any assets in this order -
1] paying off mortgage, which the OPs father didnt have.
2] Paying for the funeral, which Op's father didn't have enough money for.
3] Paying the debts.

The debts should be written off as he had no assets.

sourcrates

yellow218 wrote: »

went through a similar situation myself recently.

The estate is liable for the debts, not the son directly. The banks shouldn't be charging interest since the date they were informed of the death, but the debt still remains unpaid.
The pension is part of the estate. You may find that the credtiors will require payment from that, somehow, a payment plan may need to be agreed,

Probate is required to deal with the estate, a will will detail the execetor(s). If they died without a will, an administrator will need to be found. This can be the son. If the son, he will have to swear an oath promising he will settle the estate, and therefore has a legal duty to ensure all debts are settled SOMEHOW and any remaining assets are divided between the beneficiaries.

Although there were debts, were there any assets? If so, these will need to be sold to settle debts.

Id recommend getting in touch with a good solicitor who specialises in probate. Although they will charge (try to agree a fee in advance) they will be able to support the process, and could act as the administrator. Sometimes having someone who isn't grieving as the one sorting out the estate can be a good thing. It's hard having to deal with grief anyway, finding out challenging things about how your loved one lived their life can be even harder.


Best of luck at this difficult time.

If its a state pension, it ends with the persons death, if its a private pension, it constitutes a part of the deceased estate, as do any other assets.

Debts are paid in order of importance as Taff says above, once all assets are depleted, the liability is ended, and any remaining debt will be written off.

No one else is liable for the debts.

Unless its a particularly complex case, you do not need the services of a solicitor.

theoretica

sourcrates wrote: »

If its a state pension, it ends with the persons death, if its a private pension, it constitutes a part of the deceased estate, as do any other assets.

I don't think this is complete - some pensions have a portion which continues to be paid to surviving spouses or children, and I don't believe that portion does form part of the estate.