Insolvent estate

Morrit_2

Hey. I would really appreciate some assistance with my issue as I simply cannot get my head straight in this.

On 19th May my mother passed away. She had no property, no valuables, only cash assets worth around £5,000. Out of this £3,500 went on funeral costs, and £750 are overpayments by housing benefit and her local authority pension (of which she had already had the lump sum a few years back). Her property is rented and needs to be cleared, but being disabled it is going to take me a considerable amount of time, so need to pay another months rent of £570.
My concern is that she left a credit card debt of around £6k, the card was with her bank, Nationwide. Nationwide have released £1500 to me from her accounts, this is what was left over after the funeral payments. I am still to pay the overpayments from this.

Everywhere I look I am told I need an insolvency specialist. But an expert or a solicitor will cost a lot more than I have. I cannot afford to hire a specialist as I am on UC due to becoming disabled.
To make matters worse, I am currently bankrupt as a result of my disabilities.
Am I right in saying I would be personally liable as far as I know, if I don't contact all of her creditors?

My questions are- do I need to put a notice in the Gazette and if so, how much does that cost?

As a bankruptee, am I still liable for debts such as this or can these be added to my bankruptcy (which is due to end in October).

If anyone sees any further issues or if I can clarify anything, please let me know. This is an extremely stressful time and my illness is not making it easy at all!

Thank you in advance.

tallyhoh

You are not liable for your mothers debts. If there is any money left in her estate after funeral bills you can pay creditors, if there is no money that's tough for them.

poppasmurf_bewdley

tallyhoh wrote: »

You are not liable for your mothers debts. If there is any money left in her estate after funeral bills you can pay creditors, if there is no money that's tough for them.

This is correct. Are you named as Executor in her will? If not, then strictly speaking her estate is nothing to do with you. If you are named as the Executor, if you are disabled and things are too much for you, then you should resign as Executor and leave the matter to the authorities to deal with, including the Landlord unfortunately for him.

Do not make yourself ill trying to do a job that is beyond you.

SallyDucati

No, you are not liable for your mothers debts. I would contact Citizens Advice, they may have a volunteer with some relevant knowledge.

My Dads estate was insolvent with several debts, we were advised to do nothing and just write to the creditors explaining that and if any of them wanted to apply for probate they could. However the bank having giving you the £1,500 could make that option more complicated.

sourcrates

Hi,


As a basic starting point, if your late mother had debts that were greater than her assets, then in a nut shell, its just tough on the creditors.
You don`t have to go to any great lengths here, you simply write to her creditors, explaining there is no money left, enclose a copy of the death certificate (they will always ask for one) and that should be that.

Debts will normally be written off, this was the case with my father in law, he had around 5k in credit card debt, he had no executor, I wrote on behalf of the family, the debt was written off, that was the end of the matter.


Ultimitly they will do as they please, but you will in no way be liable for any debt arising from this, nor will anyone else.

Morrit_2

Hi.
Thank you for your responses. I also posed the same question by email to citizens advice and they responded this afternoon and told me to contact a financial advisor. I asked the bereavement team at Nationwide (her credit card bank) and they put me in touch with Phillip and Cohen who deal with their debts, they also told me to contact a financial advisor. Everywhere I look it is 'contact a solicitor/financial advisor', and I presume they don't work for free!

If I retire myself as executor, I am worried that any possessions that have sentimental value will be sold off (worthless bits really but could probably get a tenner here and there if sold, which would add up to a couple hundred quid, but to me they are priceless and all I have left of my family). The furniture is worthless, there are no antiques... I know I should take emotion out of this but it is very difficult to. She died at the age of 63, I'm 39, I now have no family left so emotions are pretty raw.

poppasmurf_bewdley

There is nothing worse than going through a late parents belongings, and you have my sympathy.

To be honest, I think I can safely say that you should remove any items you wish to retrieve for personal reasons and take them home. Who will know? If it makes you feel better, make a suitable donation into the estate, but I honestly don't think that is necessary.

Speak to Citizens Advice about giving up as Executor, and hopefully, as the funeral has been held, you can walk away and grieve in your own way.

Sea_Shell

What is OP supposed to now do with the £1500 left over from the funeral costs, released by Nationwide??

Mojisola

Sea_Shell wrote: »

What is OP supposed to now do with the £1500 left over from the funeral costs, released by Nationwide??

This is useful -
https://www.bereavementadvice.org/topics/probate-and-legal/insolvent-estates/

As the only debt seems to be a credit card and the funeral and testamentary expenses take precedence, what's left from the bank account should be offered to the credit card company.

EssexHebridean

Mojisola wrote: »

This is useful -
https://www.bereavementadvice.org/topics/probate-and-legal/insolvent-estates/

As the only debt seems to be a credit card and the funeral and testamentary expenses take precedence, what's left from the bank account should be offered to the credit card company.

There are also overpayments in benefits I seem to recall from the first post.

A horrible situation to find yourself in OP - hardly surprising that you can't remove emotion from the situation.

I would be cautious about contact Phillips & Cohen while you are still feeling as raw as you are - and I'd suggest that when you do you do so in writing and tell them that any contact from them is also to be in hard copy form - they can be quite persistent on phone calls.

theoretica

Morrit wrote: »

Her property is rented and needs to be cleared, but being disabled it is going to take me a considerable amount of time, so need to pay another months rent of £570.

I am sorry for your loss and worries at this difficult time.

Just picking up on this - can you get the items of sentimental value but no commercial value out rapidly? Could friends help you? Paying the estate's money to the landlord, to clear the property - which will be mainly for the landlord's benefit - is one of the things I think you should not do as unfair to the existing debtors. Handing the keys back to the property with the furniture etc still there would be less problematic.