Mum's debts now she's died

Kitty777

Hello,

My mum has passed away recently. She has around £200 in her bank account and that is her estate. This is now frozen. She had, from what I can see, around £2000 worth of debt from different people.

I have found a website which has a template letter to creditors.. And my plan is to send them that letter. But my questions are

*who gets the £200? Which creditor?
* I have contacted her bank, but will that £200 be given to myself? I am not the next of kin but my brother is who I'm working with but I'm informally dealing with affairs.

The funeral has been paid for, by someone generous and mum didn't have a will.

Thank you

Yorkshireman99

Kitty777 wrote: »

Hello,

My mum has passed away recently. She has around £200 in her bank account and that is her estate. This is now frozen. She had, from what I can see, around £2000 worth of debt from different people.

I have found a website which has a template letter to creditors.. And my plan is to send them that letter. But my questions are

*who gets the £200? Which creditor?
* I have contacted her bank, but will that £200 be given to myself? I am not the next of kin but my brother is who I'm working with but I'm informally dealing with affairs.

The funeral has been paid for, by someone generous and mum didn't have a will.

Thank you

The money is due to whoever paid for the funeral. For the benefit of other readers in such a situation ther local council is obliged to pay for the funeral or the hospital where the death occurred. Nobody else needs to pay.

Kitty777

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

The money is due to whoever paid for the funeral. For the benefit of other readers in such a situation ther local council is obliged to pay for the funeral or the hospital where the death occurred. Nobody else needs to pay.

How do they go about receiving it?

Yorkshireman99

Someone, probably your brother or you, needs to go to the bank and ask. The bank will require and indemnity. Otherwise just write to the creditors and tell them their is no value in the estate. Nobody has any legal obligation to do anything. If you mother was receiving any means tested benefits the DWP may ask for any overpayment back but they should get the same letter.

datlex

When my father died my brother and I were joint heirs according to probate. I am surprised therefore you are not with your brother for your mum.

Silvertabby

My sympathies.

The £200 should be paid to the person who paid for the funeral. He/she could always use it so you can 'raise a glass' to your mum's memory. Or put it towards a headstone - if you arrange that through the undertakers, then it counts as a funeral expense.

You can then write to all her creditors and truthfully say that as her total assets of £200 had been put towards her funeral expenses, there are no further funds for debt repayments.

Keep_pedalling

The £200 should go to the person who paid for the funeral, as funeral cost have first call on anyone's estate.

When you send out those letters to her creditors, make it clear to them that the estate is insolvent and that there are insufficient funds to cover funeral costs. Also inform them that you are not administering the estate and therefore will not be entering any further correspondence with them.