I inherited a settled personal loan

Clogs1

Hi! My dad died last year, and left me 4 grand, and a loan of 1000 pounds that he made to a neighbour - my dad had just been diagnosed with cancer, and he didn't expect the personal loan to be repaid b4 he died. He beat the cancer, but died several years later, without amending his will when the personal loan had been repaid to him.. The executor (my dad's partner) has issued me with the 4 grand, but I have since seen the will that also mentions the loan amount. I feel my dad wanted me to have 5 grand. Should I ask the executor why it hasn't been paid, or is a settled loan considered a non-entity? Any advice please? 😊

molerat

Subject to the will stating it was the outstanding loan you inherited what, in the commercial world, would be the loan book. That loan book is empty so their is nothing to inherit in the same way as being left a specific item which was disposed of several years earlier.

lincroft1710

If your dad wanted you to receive £5,000 from his estate, then why did he not just leave you £5,000 rather than £4,000 and the loan repayments?

Mojisola

Clogs1 wrote: »

I have since seen the will that also mentions the loan amount. I feel my dad wanted me to have 5 grand.

What exactly does the will say?

Clogs1

Hi! He was expecting to die b4 the loan was repaid, so I suppose he thought he was ringfencing it. The balance of his estate went to my brother, so my brother got the loan repayment within his share.

Clogs1

"After pment of my just debts and funeral expenses, I give to (me): the sum of 4000 pounds and the loan I made to ****** of 1115 pounds, repayable to me on the sale of her property at ******.

Thank you 😊

Keep_pedalling

This is similar to being left a specific item that was disposed of prior to death. That bequest would fail as does the loan part of yours. Not much you can do I am afraid, unless your brother is feeling generous.

Was this a DIY will by any chance?

AnotherJoe

IANAL but since the loan no longer exists he cannot leave it to you any more than if it was a specific car he owned and left to you but sold it before he died.
I presume your bother isn't interested in paying up so I'd say there's nothing you can do.

Clogs1

This was a handwritten diy will! I was hoping my query mught constitute a grey area, in which favour is given to the beneficiary. So, because the loan was repaid, my brother benefited. My dad may as well have left the loan to my brother in the first instance... doesn't seem right! Oh well... 😊

unholyangel

Clogs1 wrote: »

This was a handwritten diy will! I was hoping my query mught constitute a grey area, in which favour is given to the beneficiary. So, because the loan was repaid, my brother benefited. My dad may as well have left the loan to my brother in the first instance... doesn't seem right! Oh well... 😊

I understand its naturally a difficult time which is often made worse if we're made to feel a parent favours one over the other. But objectively, your dad never intended you to get it if it had been repaid otherwise why not just leave you £5115?

You could of course challenge it. But any action would quickly eat up the £4k with no certain prospect of success.

I agree with the others (fwiw) that its a specific gift which would fail - unless perhaps your dad kept the money it was repaid with separate from any other money he had. If he didn't or perhaps it was repaid to his bank account then it would have ceased when it entered his account as it would become indistinguishable from any other money in there.

It may sound daft but courts have ruled similarly before, albeit not inheritance law. There was the theft related ruling regarding stealing fuel from a petrol station and it mixing in your tank (it wasn't technically theft so they had to create a new offence of making off without payment). Another example was regarding freezing of bank accounts where the debtor may earn too little to arrest their earnings. Was deemed when wages are paid into a bank account, they cease to be wages and so every penny could be frozen.

Mojisola

Clogs1 wrote: »

"After pment of my just debts and funeral expenses, I give to (me): the sum of 4000 pounds and the loan I made to ****** of 1115 pounds, repayable to me on the sale of her property at ******.

I think it's a shame that the rest of the family can't admit that your father obviously intended you to have the extra £1115 - but people can get very awkward where wills and money are concerned.