Paying Funeral Costs - Deceased Joint Bank Account

Hi all.



In a bit of a quandry. My mother-in-law passed away yesterday, surviving her are my wife and my Father-In-Law (who is in care with dementia).



My wife and I have ZERO money to pay for the funeral, but we know that her mother has a joint current account with husband (the one with dementia) that currently has more than enough money in it to cover the costs.


Trouble is, now that my MIL has passed on, the joint account I assume becomes solely my Father-In-Laws property. He has dementia, and so cannot look after his own financial affairs and is unlikely to understand/be able to sign to pay for the funeral costs.


I've read into probate etc and that's going to have to be a long road we go down, not sure how it all works given that she is survived by her husband and so technically we wouldn't get probate as he's still alive?


I should mention, neither parent has a will.



Is there anyway the funeral costs can be paid from this Joint account?


Thanks in advance.


Gavin
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  • JGB1955
    JGB1955 Posts: 3,458
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    I'm guessing that you don't have Power of Attorney for your father?
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  • McKneff
    McKneff Posts: 38,816
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    Probate is irrelevent. This only happens when will are made.
    Mother has died intestate, google that and see what you come up with.

    Does mother have no assets, jewellry, car , any goods of value
    make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
    and we will never, ever return.
  • JGB1955
    JGB1955 Posts: 3,458
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    You may well find that if you contact your parents bank they will agree to paying the Funeral Director directly, upon sight of their bill, from the joint account. Each bank has a different policy.
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  • Thank you so far guys.



    I've looked online at Lloyds (who they bank with) and they do say they will pay funeral costs prior to probate etc.


    Having looked further into probate, it seems this relates more to estate - My MIL literally owns nothing, no house, no property, the only money she gets is state pension, she has no savings. All of the money they have in the world is in this Joint Account basically.


    And no - we do not have POA for father-in-law sadly, lets just say all this has come about in the last 6 months mainly and it's been absolutely manic.



    I'll have a google of intestate and see what I can find.
  • JGB1955
    JGB1955 Posts: 3,458
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    As your mother has died intestate and her assets are less than £250,000, everything will pass straight to your father (assuming they were married). I doubt that you will need to apply for probate but you may well be left with the problem of how to pay bills etc etc if your father no longer has mental capacity.


    Sorry for the situation you find yourselves in.
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  • Keep_pedalling
    Keep_pedalling Posts: 16,441
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    Sorry that you find yourself in this situation. As your FIL is alive everything in that account is now his and cannot be touched for her funeral costs.

    Under this situation, unless someone else want to pay funeral costs, then it is going to fall on the local authority (or NHS if she died in hospital) to provide a basic public health funeral (unfortunately sometimes known as paupers funerals)

    https://beyond.life/help-centre/funeral-costs/what-is-a-paupers-funeral-a-guide-to-public-health-funerals-in-the-uk/
  • badger09
    badger09 Posts: 11,130
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    Condolences on your loss.

    This is a tricky one. Normally, on the death of 1st joint account holder, everything is then owned by 2nd holder who can continue to operate the account.

    However, if FIL does not have mental capacity to operate the account, Lloyds are likely to freeze his access.

    It would be worth talking to Lloyds Bereavement Team. Details & FAQs here

    https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/customer-support/bereavement.asp

    My recent experience, though not with Lloyds, was that Bereavement Team staff on helplines were very helpful and knowledgeable.
  • Yorkshireman99
    Yorkshireman99 Posts: 5,470 Forumite
    GJGamble wrote: »
    Hi all.



    In a bit of a quandry. My mother-in-law passed away yesterday, surviving her are my wife and my Father-In-Law (who is in care with dementia).



    My wife and I have ZERO money to pay for the funeral, but we know that her mother has a joint current account with husband (the one with dementia) that currently has more than enough money in it to cover the costs.


    Trouble is, now that my MIL has passed on, the joint account I assume becomes solely my Father-In-Laws property. He has dementia, and so cannot look after his own financial affairs and is unlikely to understand/be able to sign to pay for the funeral costs.


    I've read into probate etc and that's going to have to be a long road we go down, not sure how it all works given that she is survived by her husband and so technically we wouldn't get probate as he's still alive?


    I should mention, neither parent has a will.



    Is there anyway the funeral costs can be paid from this Joint account?


    Thanks in advance.


    Gavin
    You can ask,the local council to,pay or the hospital where she died. They are legally obliged to pay
  • t0rt0ise
    t0rt0ise Posts: 4,258
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    You'll have to ask the court to allow you to manage his finances. Look up the Court of Protection. They can release the funds for the funeral fairly quickly if necessary.
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,551
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    Sorry that you find yourself in this situation. As your FIL is alive everything in that account is now his and cannot be touched for her funeral costs.

    It would be considered normal for a spouse to pay for their deceased's partner's funeral - as long as the bank doesn't freeze the account, it's worth asking for the FD to be paid directly from the account.
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