Chasing company assets after death

Shortchanged

Hi my father owned a LTD company and has recently passed away. Before doing so he gifted me a car that was registered in the company name for insurance purposes only. The car is worth around £10,000.

It turns out my farther had debts of around £19,000 when he passed, and we knew he was going to die when he gifted me the car as he was terminal, but we knew nothing of the debts.

Can the car now be chased even though it was gifted to me?

Thanks

unforeseen

Did your father or his company have the debts? It makes a difference as they are separate entities.

Who purchased the car - company or father (not who it was registered to)

getmore4less

Are the debt personal or company?

Was the car owned personal or company?

Shortchanged

The debt is in the LTD company name. My father brought the car with his own cash to drive as a personal vehicle but had it in company name on log book for insurance only.

The debt was rent arrears (why the landlord let this go on for so long I don’t know!) I have sold some company assets to help cover costs (ramps, tools) but doesn’t really scratch the surface. The landlord is aware my dad had the car and just worried they could chase me for it

Thanks for your replies

Keep_pedalling

Does the car appear on the company accounts?

unforeseen

Do you have any paperwork showing that your father personally bought the car? Receipt etc. If so then it will form part of his personal estate and nothing to do with the company so should be safe from being used to cover company debts.

It might go a bit pear shaped if your father had to act as personal guarantor for his company when renting the premises.

Shortchanged

Now paper work I’m afraid, my dad wasn’t the best with that kind of thing hence the trouble we are in now.

I’ve got a feeling that maybe somewhere along the way he may have personally guaranted the rent which is why it was allowed to get so high!

Yorkshireman99

By what authority have you sold company property?

TonyMMM

The winding up (or sale) of the company, and your father's estate are two very different things and you have to be careful to treat them as such.

Did the company have an accountant ?

Did your father leave a will ?

badmemory

Are you absolutely certain he had a limited company? Just because he may have had employees doesn't mean it must be a ltd co. Have you any copies of previous years accounts that may help. Obviously as has been said an accountant would be a help. Can you find his latest VAT returns, that may give you some hint as to what is going on.

Keep_pedalling

Shortchanged wrote: »

Now paper work I’m afraid, my dad wasn’t the best with that kind of thing hence the trouble we are in now.

I’ve got a feeling that maybe somewhere along the way he may have personally guaranted the rent which is why it was allowed to get so high!

If he was running a Ltd company he should have been filling accounts with companies house and if he was that bad with his paperwork I would have thought the company would have been struck off yonks ago.