Am I responsible for this debt?

p00hsticks

kiyamr2 wrote: »

6 months prior to him passing away he bought a reclining bed and a reclining chair from Willowbrook in his name from his bank account and he was paying monthly on finance to Ikano Bank.

Sorry for your loss.

What has happened to the bed and chair ?

They should form part of the estate so depending on the contract should either be offered back to the finance company or sold and - as his funeral was pre-paid - then the proceeds divided proportionately between any creditors, of which Ikano bank will be one.

boliston

p00hsticks wrote: »

Sorry for your loss.

What has happened to the bed and chair ?

They should form part of the estate so depending on the contract should either be offered back to the finance company or sold and - as his funeral was pre-paid - then the proceeds divided proportionately between any creditors, of which Ikano bank will be one.

Surely second hand furniture has almost zero worth - in fact you would likely be charged for them to be removed. I would imagine an 'estate' in the legal sense would refer to assets like savings balances, stocks and shares, real estate etc rather than low value items like a bed, chair, clothing etc

TBagpuss

write to them, tell them that you are not your dad's executor and that you believe that his estate is insolvent, (which, if he had assets of £500 and debt of £5,000, it is).
Depending on the terms of the finance agreement they may be entitled ot take back the bed and chair.
I'm sorry for your loss.

kiyamr2

Uxb wrote: »

Presumably then they (bank/finance company) might want the items back?

Apparently they won't take the chair or bed back.

AnotherJoe

In that case OP, my commiserations again and i suggest a simple letter as I outlined before, soemthing along the lines of ;

"my fathers estate is insolvent, I am not acting as executor and there will not be one. I am not responsible for my fathers debts and will not reply to any more communications from you as this is not my responsibility. The bed & chair will be disposed of within the next 14 days if you do not collect.

Yours, etc,"


Make a copy of it and get proof of postage from the PO.

p00hsticks

boliston wrote: »

Surely second hand furniture has almost zero worth - in fact you would likely be charged for them to be removed. I would imagine an 'estate' in the legal sense would refer to assets like savings balances, stocks and shares, real estate etc rather than low value items like a bed, chair, clothing etc

A nearly new reclining bed and chair could well be worth hundreds of pounds - the fact that the OP's father took finance out to purchase them would suggest that we are not talking cheap items here

kiyamr2

p00hsticks wrote: »

A nearly new reclining bed and chair could well be worth hundreds of pounds - the fact that the OP's father took finance out to purchase them would suggest that we are not talking cheap items here

Both items cost around £7000 together.

Dad had paid of some of that amount, but £5000 Is probably still outstanding.
That is what Ikano will be chasing me for, they asked if I could pay an amount today which I declined.
I explained there is no estate, but she did insist she would send in the post a settlement figure, and she did insist it was now my debt.

I will send them the letter (Thank you Another Joe) and see what they reply with.

konark

Send them the letter.


Don't see what they reply with because the letter says you will have no more communication with them. Bin any reply.You are not legally responsible for your father's debt and they know it, they are just trying it on.


If you continue to communicate with them or even, God forbid, pay them money they can argue you have intermeddled in your father's estate and are now liable for his debts.

AnotherJoe

If you know the date when you spoke to the person who told you its your debt make a note of it now. That is pretty close to fraud for someone to state that. Should in future they make any attempt to collect debts then this will help.

kiyamr2

Yes I remember the date. Last Friday. 18 days after Dad passed away.