Debts after death of debtor

JaneKK

Hi,
Hope I am posting this in the right place. My DH has a lot of debt and I was wondering if he was to die before me and the debts have not been paid in full by that time, am I then, as his spouse, liable for his debts?
If not, what happens to the debts? Are they written off on production of a death certificate?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

sourcrates

Hello,

If the debts are soley in your other halfs name, then he and he alone is responsible for them, no one else, only the named debtor.

If he were to leave an estate, then any money oweing would be used from that estate to pay outstanding debts, if the money in the estate did not cover all outstanding liabilities, whatever was left would be written of, on production of a death certificate, yes.

PasturesNew

You need to put numbers to it really - and say how your house is owned (joint tenants or tenants in common).

It is possible they could go swing, if there's no house and he's got £10 in the bank.

His "estate" is potentially everything he owns. From his gold watch and BMW on the driveway to half the house and his £20k in an ISA.

On the other hand, if he's got £5 folded in his wallet, you rent and his pushbike's worth £20, then the debts would be written off.

It's not YOUR debt - but if he died then "all his money/belongings" don't automatically transfer to you. They are his "estate".

Keep_pedalling

Even if a property is owned as joint tenants a creditor has 5 years to apply for an Insolvency Administration Order, which would basically split the house ownership and they can force a sale to recover the dept.

So if the OP and her husband own property then he really should have life insurance in place so as not to leave the OP in a financial mess should he suffer a premature death.

JaneKK

Hi Guys,
Thanks for your replies. Bit more information. His debts are approximately £15,000 (I think) and whilst he pays monthly payments towards them he is actually spending more out than he has coming in so the debts are getting worse all the time. We have been together since 2002, married since 2004 and live in his house. We don't have any children but I have three children from my first marriage). He paid the mortgage off when he was able to access his pension early although I also gave him my life savings of £7,000 towards this (his sister also gave him £5,000). The house is solely in his name, although he says it's 'our' house. In the circumstances I previously asked him if my name could go on the deeds and he said it would be too expensive to do that and that as his wife if anything happened to him first the house would automatically go to me anyway.
We don't currently have wills but are going to get this done as soon as possible.
As far as I am aware he stopped paying life insurance when the house was paid off. The only insurance he has is accidental life insurance because I added him to my existing policy when we got married. He smokes and drinks and has already had one minor heart attack and an incident where he was developing cancerous cells in his mouth but this was avoided when he gave up for smoking and drinking for two years but has since started both again. So because of this any life insurance would be heavily loaded and probably not affordable by him (or me) in his current debt situation.
Usually we both work full time but I'm currently inbetween jobs but have several months money for my share of the bills whlst I look for another job. He is actually on a higher wage than I was and it's not a question of him not earning enough. The problem is the excessive amounts he spends socially.
I manage all the joint bills and am quite good with money where as he just buries his head in the sand and won't talk about it. I'm hoping to get a better idea of exactly how much he owes and then help him manage his money and get his debts paid off but I also need to be realistic and know what could happen if this doesn't work.
Thanks again for any advice.

sourcrates

JaneKK wrote: »

The house is solely in his name, although he says it's 'our' house. In the circumstances I previously asked him if my name could go on the deeds and he said it would be too expensive to do that and that as his wife if anything happened to him first the house would automatically go to me anyway.
.

This is a common misconception.

Without a will, the house would not go automatically to you, an administrator would be appointed to deal with the estate, and the chances are it would be sold to repay his creditors.

You need to get wills in place as soon as possible really.

info here :

https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/if-the-person-didnt-leave-a-will

Keep_pedalling

I think your husband is making excuses for not converting your house to joint ownership, it is a relatively simple procedure and will not cost a lot.

Don't waist any time in sorting those wills, and somehow try to knock some sense into the idiot in cutting down his spending, especially his smoking and drinking which with his history will almost certainly shorten his life.

JaneKK

My sentiments exactly! Ostrich is going to get a talking to very soon about all the problems and stress he's causing me and what is going to be done about it! No 'ifs', no 'buts'! A lot of his family have died as a result of heart attacks so his attitude is that he's likely to die from a heart attack as well so he might as well enjoy himself in the meantime!