Mothers wishes

barbedhook

My mother died recently I had a lasting power of attorney for her banking and sorting her bills etc she lived in rented accomodation so no property involved.she didn't make a will but always told me when the time came to pay for the funeral and any outstanding debts and distribute the rest between my brothers and sisters we all knew of her wishes and agreed that's what we would do . So after she died I transferred her money into my account paid for the funeral and a memorial stone and now I will distribute the money between my siblings their is 8 of us all together we will each receive £5000 each .my question is have I done anything wrong when I see posts about probate and other things I am beginning to worry a bit. I filled the online form when I registered the death I think it's called one call to dap etc know thank you

Yorkshireman99

You should have obtained letters of administration and distributed the estae according to the intestacy rules.

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

However from what you say you have done this already. If any debts do appear you will be personally liable for them.

barbedhook

Thank you for your swift reply I have put a little aside in case of any unforeseen bills but every thing has been paid thank once again

Mojisola

barbedhook wrote: »

she didn't make a will but always told me when the time came to pay for the funeral and any outstanding debts and distribute the rest between my brothers and sisters.

So after she died I transferred her money into my account paid for the funeral and a memorial stone and now I will distribute the money between my siblings their is 8 of us all together we will each receive £5000 each.

If she was getting any benefits, be certain that there isn't any overpayment before handing out all the money.

Also, don't be in too much of a hurry to pay out all the money in case other debts come to light.

It is possible to do an interim payment to all the beneficiaries and keep back the rest until you're certain there are no other claims on the estate.

Keeping the money mixed up with your own could cause problems. I would separate the estate money and your own into different accounts.

barbedhook

Good advice I will.do that thank you

Keep_pedalling

Your POA ended when your mother died, so you had no authority to transfer the money into your account. With the amount concerned here you would have needed to obtain letters of administration to release the money from what should have been her frozen accounts.

Chances are that there will be no repercussions from this, but there is a risk that the bank may raise the issue of withdrawals after DoD.

Jenniefour

If you haven't done this already, make a set of simple, accurate accounts so you can give a copy to each of your siblings (avoids future suspicions/disagreements). Money received and from which bank account (if more than one), money paid out for bills and other money paid and to whom. Keep all the relevant invoices, receipts, recent bank statements and correspondence. I am assuming the 5k each is a rough round figure, since an amount each of exactly 5k is just about impossible.

Addition: just had a quick glance at some of your previous posts, and, since you might be receiving some kind of benefits yourself, make sure you keep every bit evidence to prove you were dealing with your mother's estate, just in case they raise something with you in future. Especially as it's a substantial amount of money.