Old debt - Statute barred

riws1975

I'm writing this for my best friend as he is really worried about this. His father has passed away recently, and he is an executor along with his siblings, but as there is not much to sort, they are letting him do it all. The bank is currently in the process of clsoing the accounts and eventually the money will be transferred to him, then he will pay off any remaining debts, then split the rest between siblings. What he is really worried about is he remembered he had a very old debt with the same bank his father's account was with, somthing like 15 years old, it would have been statute barred in 2008-2009, if the bank connects the dots so to speak could they pay of the debt with that money before giving him the rest? He fully admits he got into trouble with money years ago and could not afford to pay them off. Any help would be useful as he is really worried.

-taff

No, they can't transfer a debt from him to his father and by extension his money.
If he has an executors account , they can't touch it.
If he has transferred his fathers money to his own account, they may take it, but they are not entitled to do that.
A statue barred letter in that case should do the trick and he should be refunded the money if they do take it [ which is a very very slim possibility]

antrobus

riws1975 wrote: »

... What he is really worried about is he remembered he had a very old debt with the same bank his father's account was with, something like 15 years old, it would have been statute barred in 2008-2009, if the bank connects the dots so to speak could they pay of the debt with that money before giving him the rest? ...

No, because the friend and his father are different people. Therefore the right of set off does not apply.

Your friend should, in any case, open an executor's bank account, and that's where the money should be transferred to, and not a personal account.

riws1975

antrobus wrote: »

No, because the friend and his father are different people. Therefore the right of set off does not apply.

Your friend should, in any case, open an executor's bank account, and that's where the money should be transferred to, and not a personal account.

With there being no property etc, and just the money in the accounts, probate wasn't needed, would they have even let him open an executor account? They never told him all this stuff. He was power of attorney on the accounts for a couple of years, surely they would have picked it up then.

jjj1980

You can open an estate account with a Will and Death Cert. It is strongly advised against to place estate funds into the Executor/s personal bank accounts for the very reason given in the OPs post.

Mojisola

jjj1980 wrote: »

You can open an estate account with a Will and Death Cert.

It is strongly advised against to place estate funds into the Executor/s personal bank accounts for the very reason given in the OPs post.

Also, if the executor is receiving any means tested benefits, the DWP could cause problems over the sudden increase in capital; if the executor should die before distributing the money, it would be seen as part of his/her estate and passed on according to a will or the intestacy rules.