Debt management company - Dad has died

Crabapple

Cross posted with OP -if you were asked to sign the sale documents it would suggest they owned as tenants in commmon and s co-trustee was required.

You really need to check this with the solicitors who dealt with the sale.

Lgas

Thank you, I will pass this information to my mum to find out, as the sale has not completed yet, and I will call Harrington Brooks on Tuesday, as she’s not coping so well with it all.

getmore4less

The will has been released

Have you handed over the administration to the solicitors?

Yorkshireman99

Lgas wrote: »

I’m not sure of the difference..all I know is they jointly owned the land and property together, and as executor I was asked to sign the sale documents as the land must still be in 2 names and i’m a beneficiary? The will has been released and solicitors have been dealing with the land sale, would they not have brought it up if she wasn’t able to sell the land?

They certainly shoud have done. The solicitor needs to told immediately about the debt and they should also be asked about the implications of the various things such as the mortgae.

PrettyKittyKat

The debts will need to be paid out of the estate, so the sale of the house and land if there is equity, which I am guessing given that there is only 97k outstanding on such a large property and land there will be? It is possible that the creditors will take reduced amounts of full and final settlements of the debts. You need to contact Harrington Brooks and send a copy of the death certificate. Once they have this they are free to talk to you without breaching any data protection, so they can discuss all the options. I would tell your Mum to presume that approx 40k of the money is earmarked for the debts for now, and seek advice from Harrington Brooks as to the options, and whether full and final settlements can be agreed with the creditors.

Keep_pedalling

This estate sounds far from insolvent. You say you are a beneficiary which would suggest your father held held some of this property either outright or as tenants in common. If that is the case then after funeral costs the creditors have first call on those.

You should not proceed with this sale until you have established the actual position of ownership. As executor you can be held responsible for these debts if you do not wind up the estate in a proper manner. I would strongly advise you to take professional advice on how to proceed from here on.

Lgas

Thank you all, this sounds much more complicated than expected. My mum has just checked and all deeds are in both of their names if that helps? There should be enough after debts to pay off the mortgage and buy another property outright at least. I will find out about the solicitors dealing with the will, my eldest brother dealt with a lot of the finances and paperwork so he should know more than both of us.

Keep_pedalling

Lgas wrote: »

Thank you all, this sounds much more complicated than expected. My mum has just checked and all deeds are in both of their names if that helps? There should be enough after debts to pay off the mortgage and buy another property outright at least. I will find out about the solicitors dealing with the will, my eldest brother dealt with a lot of the finances and paperwork so he should know more than both of us.

Jointly held property can be held two ways. We own our house as joint tenants, which means after one of us dies the other will own it outright automatically. If your father has left a share of the properties to you and your brother then your mother and father should have held their properties as tenants in common, which means each holds a specific percentage of the property, typically 50/50.

Yorkshireman99

The OP and hjis mum need to consult a solicitor BEFORE discussing anything with a debtor.

Keep_pedalling

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

The OP and hjis mum need to consult a solicitor BEFORE discussing anything with a debtor.

Agreed, although as executors the OP and his/her brother need to deal with this, and keep the grieving widow from worrying about the details as much as possible.