French Inheritance and UK Debt liability

saraneeds2know

My Father was an expat living in France where he owned his own property. He died last November and I was the sole heir in his will, he named two Executors who have since renounced their positions. I have now sold the house in France, the notaire in France dealt with debts in France and the rest of the money has been transferred to me. Dad also had a 6K debt to a bank in the UK who are aware of the situation and want me to pay the debt off once the house is sold. Am I liable to pay this debt? Considering the house was under french laws and I paid French Inheritance Tax etc? The notaire in France suggested I could decline the debt in the UK. The UK Solicitor couldn't give me an answer. As far as I understand the debt is against the Estate but as the property was in France am I still legally bound to pay it?

Yorkshireman99

saraneeds2know wrote: »

My Father was an expat living in France where he owned his own property. He died last November and I was the sole heir in his will, he named two Executors who have since renounced their positions. I have now sold the house in France, the notaire in France dealt with debts in France and the rest of the money has been transferred to me. Dad also had a 6K debt to a bank in the UK who are aware of the situation and want me to pay the debt off once the house is sold. Am I liable to pay this debt? Considering the house was under french laws and I paid French Inheritance Tax etc? The notaire in France suggested I could decline the debt in the UK. The UK Solicitor couldn't give me an answer. As far as I understand the debt is against the Estate but as the property was in France am I still legally bound to pay it?

The debt is of the estate and should have dealt with by the French executor. However debtors can, in some circumstances, seek money from the beneficiaries. What makes things more complex is that, AFAIK, the English estate is insolvent. On balance I would just tell the bank that you will not be administrating it. Chances are they will write it off.

AnotherJoe

Is it really the case you can leave the UK with a load of debts, go to another country to live and then when you die your estate , merely because it was paid out in another country, is inviolate from genuine debts back in the UK?

Yorkshireman99

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Is it really the case you can leave the UK with a load of debts, go to another country to live and then when you die your estate , merely because it was paid out in another country, is inviolate from genuine debts back in the UK?

Effectively yes. The estate is insolvent and unless someone is prepared to administer the insolvent estate thenthat is it.

Keep_pedalling

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Effectively yes. The estate is insolvent and unless someone is prepared to administer the insolvent estate thenthat is it.

I do not think you can say that with confidence. Overall the estate is not insolvent, and none of us here have a clue what the legal position is for such a complex situation. Legal advice should be sort. Personally I would pay it regardless of the legal situation as I think to do otherwise is morally wrong.

Yorkshireman99

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

I do not think you can say that with confidence. Overall the estate is not insolvent, and none of us here have a clue what the legal position is for such a complex situation. Legal advice should be sort. Personally I would pay it regardless of the legal situation as I think to do otherwise is morally wrong.

The legal position is very clear. In the UK jurisdiction the estate is insolvent. I can’t see why you should think it is complex. Morally the OP should pay though there is no legal obligation to do so. Having estates split between two jurisdictions is an every day occcurence. In fact in the this it is very simple with one asset in the UK. There is a case to say that the French executor could have dealt with it by getting the French will re sealed in the UK but this could have been difficul and costly for them.

saraneeds2know

Just to clarify, My Father's will was held by the UK Solicitor who gave me a copy to give to the notaire in France.

troubleinparadise

There are solicitors in the UK who deal with French and UK law.

Why not speak to one of them to clear this situation up once and for all?

The word of one Notaire and opinions on a forum aren’t necessarily the definitive answer.

I have dealt with an estate where the assets were held in two countries which necessitated getting the U.K. Will resealed for Probate in the second country. It meant instructing solicitors in the second country, and took some time to achieve, but in this instance it was for solvent assets, not debt!

Yorkshireman99

saraneeds2know wrote: »

Just to clarify, My Father's will was held by the UK Solicitor who gave me a copy to give to the notaire in France.

I may misunderstood what you said. Was the will English or French? If English was probate granted?

unholyangel

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

The legal position is very clear. In the UK jurisdiction the estate is insolvent. I can’t see why you should think it is complex. Morally the OP should pay though there is no legal obligation to do so. Having estates split between two jurisdictions is an every day occcurence. In fact in the this it is very simple with one asset in the UK. There is a case to say that the French executor could have dealt with it by getting the French will re sealed in the UK but this could have been difficul and costly for them.

Is it clear? My understanding has always been that there is only one estate - just the rules determining administration of those assets are determined by jurisdiction.

Otherwise a "child" of the deceased in scotland would be prevented from exercising their legal rights against movable property that was held in england (such as money in any bank account headquartered in england).

Yorkshireman99

unholyangel wrote: »

Is it clear? My understanding has always been that there is only one estate - just the rules determining administration of those assets are determined by jurisdiction.

Otherwise a "child" of the deceased in scotland would be prevented from exercising their legal rights against movable property that was held in england (such as money in any bank account headquartered in england).

It was clear but I may have misunderstood what the OP said and what was done. In the instance your query any estate held in England and Wales is not subject to Scottish rules since the Scottish courts have no jurisdiction.