Care home fees

Keep_pedalling

Unfortunately they have 6 years to claim a debt, so yes they have a legal right to claim it, and you have the right to ask for proof of the debt. If you were the sole executor of the estate and you failed to place a notice in the London Gazzette then you are responsible for the debt. If the 3 of you were executors then you are jointly responsible.

If the relevant notices were placed then the debt can be persued via the beneficiaries, which again comes down to the 3 of you. Have you spoken to your siblings about this? Even if you were the sole executor then I would hope that they would do the right thing and pay you back their share of the debt, if it does have to be paid.

POA ceases on death anyway, responsibility here falls on the executor(s) whether POA existed or not.

AnotherJoe

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Sorry but I disagree. Your post implied that the OP should just stonewall. The OP needs to do more than just say prove it. (S) he needs to discuss it with the home in a sensible manner.

So you've read into my post things i didn't say, such as "just stonewall"? If i thought they should stonewall, I'd have said " just stonewall"

What i said was "get them to prove it" and wait (and the only implication is wait until they've proved it, what else can they do*? So no stonewalling implied except in your mind.

( using your logic I could equally well argue that you dont think they should ask the home to prove it since nowhere have you suggested they should. )

* Suggestion; OP, get the bank to produce records of your mums account from the time she went into the home, until the time the account was closed. As a joint account holder that shouldn't be too difficult.

Keep_pedalling

AnotherJoe wrote: »

So you've read into my post things i didn't say, such as "just stonewall"? If i thought they should stonewall, I'd have said " just stonewall"

What i said was "get them to prove it" and wait (and the only implication is wait until they've proved it, what else can they do*? So no stonewalling implied except in your mind.

( using your logic I could equally well argue that you dont think they should ask the home to prove it since nowhere have you suggested they should. )

* Suggestion; OP, get the bank to produce records of your mums account from the time she went into the home, until the time the account was closed. As a joint account holder that shouldn't be too difficult.

Seems the right approach to take, an executor has the responsibility of not only paying any debts, but also to make sure the beneficiaries receive the correct amount from the estate, so obtaining proof the the debt is both correct and valid.

Yorkshireman99

AnotherJoe wrote: »

So you've read into my post things i didn't say, such as "just stonewall"? If i thought they should stonewall, I'd have said " just stonewall"

What i said was "get them to prove it" and wait (and the only implication is wait until they've proved it, what else can they do*? So no stonewalling implied except in your mind.

( using your logic I could equally well argue that you dont think they should ask the home to prove it since nowhere have you suggested they should. )

* Suggestion; OP, get the bank to produce records of your mums account from the time she went into the home, until the time the account was closed. As a joint account holder that shouldn't be too difficult.

You said Prove it and wait. That suggests a confrontational attitude. That is what I believe is never a wise approach. I stand by that.

Larac

Personally I think you will need to speak to the CH and find out what period of time the outstanding fees cover. The contract your Mum signed may have a clause in it, that following her death payment was due for a period of time - these do vary from 3 days to a month or more according to the contract that was signed. The other possibility is that may have been 'insufficient funds' in her account to cover the fees. I would also look to contact the bank where your Mum's payments came from to pay the CH, to see if you can get a bank statement to cover the period of time in question. I do find it strange that after this time, they are seeking repayment - sounds like someone has done an audit of the books and found a discrepancy. My Mum died in a CH in Nov 2017 and the CH were very quick to settle the account - so sorry you are having a bad experience.

Mojisola

Nessykins66 wrote: »

My mother died in March 2013 and was in a private care home at the time which she signed the contract for herself and organised payments herself.

Did no-one in the family check that the care home bill was fully paid up?

Did no-one sort out her finances and make sure there weren't any other debts or benefit overpayments to be repaid?

Yorkshireman99

Mojisola wrote: »

Did no-one in the family check that the care home bill was fully paid up?

Did no-one sort out her finances and make sure there weren't any other debts or benefit overpayments to be repaid?

That is the executor.s job. If the executor did not do the job properly including publishing the statutory notices then they have nobody to blame but themselves. If they were negligent the they are liable to pay if the funds cannot be recovered from the beneficiaries.