Do we need probate in order to pay off deceased uncle's mortgage?

tumbledowngirl

In a nutshell :

My husband's uncle died a few weeks ago. No partner or children, and no will, so my husband is dealing with his estate.
Uncle owned a flat that he had taken a small (less than £4k) mortgage out on with Halifax to buy a new kitchen with - it's one of the equty release type that is repayable on death, with fixed interest payments only until then.
He also had his bank accounts with Halifax. They happily released the funds on production of the death certificate, but have said we can't repay the mortgage until probate is granted.

Does this sound correct?
It seems a bit odd, given that we're trying to pay off a debt.

Yorkshireman99

tumbledowngirl wrote: »

In a nutshell :

My husband's uncle died a few weeks ago. No partner or children, and no will, so my husband is dealing with his estate.
Uncle owned a flat that he had taken a small (less than £4k) mortgage out on with Halifax to buy a new kitchen with - it's one of the equty release type that is repayable on death, with fixed interest payments only until then.
He also had his bank accounts with Halifax. They happily released the funds on production of the death certificate, but have said we can't repay the mortgage until probate is granted.

Does this sound correct?
It seems a bit odd, given that we're trying to pay off a debt.

Someone has to apply for letters of administrstion becaus the estate is intestate, i.e. there is no will. Legally you can't administer the estate without probate. The estate must be distributed according to the laws of intestacy. Really speaking the Halifax should not have released the funds yet. This tells you who inherits.

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will[/url]

tumbledowngirl

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Someone has to apply for letters of administrstion becuae the estate is intestate, i.e. there is no William. Legally you can't administer the estate without probate. The estate must be distributed according to the laws of intestacy. Really speaking the Halifax should not have released the funds yet. This tells you who inherits.

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

Thank you for your reply.
My husband is in the process of applying for probate. He and his other uncle are joint beneficiaries under the laws of intestacy.
Halifax have told both parties different things at different times - initially, they said the bank accounts would be frozen but then they forwarded a cheque for the balance out of the blue. It seems slightly ridiculous that they were happy to do that but not for us to then pay off the mortgage...and they won't discuss the mortgage until we have probate.

poppystar

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Someone has to apply for letters of administrstion becuae the estate is intestate, i.e. there is no William.

Predictive text never ceases to cheer my day up :rotfl:

Yorkshireman99

Double drat!

Yorkshireman99

tumbledowngirl wrote: »

Thank you for your reply.
My husband is in the process of applying for probate. He and his other uncle are joint beneficiaries under the laws of intestacy.
Halifax have told both parties different things at different times - initially, they said the bank accounts would be frozen but then they forwarded a cheque for the balance out of the blue. It seems slightly ridiculous that they were happy to do that but not for us to then pay off the mortgage...and they won't discuss the mortgage until we have probate.

Classic left and right hand scenario. Legally they should not have released the funds either.

tumbledowngirl

poppystar wrote: »

Predictive text never ceases to cheer my day up :rotfl:

Definitely no William! :rotfl:

getmore4less

There is nothing legally stopping you paying someone's debt that should stop further interest accrual.
The terms of the debt may have something, worth checking if you have the documents.

Releasing the charge could be an issue that requires a grant.

tumbledowngirl

getmore4less wrote: »

There is nothing legally stopping you paying someone's debt that should stop further interest accrual.
The terms of the debt may have something, worth checking if you have the documents.

Releasing the charge could be an issue that requires a grant.

The mortgage is 20 years into a 40 year term. We have some original paperwork for it but no t' s & c's and the product was discontinued in 2011.
The irony is that I've just read online that Halifax expect the beneficiaries to sell the property within 18 months...but won't let us pay it off until they say so.

konark

Mortgage ? £4,000? I'm sure I read somewhere you couldn't get a mortgage for less than £25,000. Are you sure it's a mortgage?

The mortgage is 20 years into a 40 year term

A 40 year mortgage to pay for some kitchen units that will last 10 years tops.

Are you sure this wasn't just a personal loan?

Keep_pedalling

konark wrote: »

Mortgage ? £4,000? I'm sure I read somewhere you couldn't get a mortgage for less than £25,000. Are you sure it's a mortgage?



A 40 year mortgage to pay for some kitchen units that will last 10 years tops.

Are you sure this wasn't just a personal loan?

The OP said it was an equity release scheme, so compound interest would have pushed the amount to be repaid to £20,000+ After 20 years. Until they get a final statement they will not know how much is needed to settle the debt, and unless the bank have agreed to freeze the interest payments the amount is still rising so they will be in no hurry to get paid