Threatening letter from Council

Gemm83

My Mum has today received a letter from her local council regarding my nan who died from covid a month ago. She was in a care home, fully funded.
Between leaving her flat and going to the care home she was in respite care for dementia. 
The letter states whilst we are sorry that your mother has died she owes £6.5k in home fees (for her stay in respite) and asking for details of the executor etc to reclaim the money. The letter also gives details for step change etc. 
My nan was a council tenant since the age of 18 and had her care home fully funded. Any money she did have (5k) has already been given to her children as per her will. There is nothing left now.
My mum is beside herself. She's corona shielded, anxiety ridden, bereaved and now this. She certainly hasn't got 6.5k sitting in her bank to pay it. 
What does she have to do? 

bradders1983

If there is nothing in the estate to pay it, it will be written off.

You or your mother should NOT pay it yourself. Who is the executor of her estate?

JamoLew

That seems awful quick for probate and division of estate assets - as above, this needs to be raised with the executor of the will

Gemm83

There was nothing written in her will as an executor, my mum has been dealing with things as her next of kin. Thankyou for your quick reply 😊

Gemm83

JamoLew said:

That seems awful quick for probate and division of estate assets - as above, this needs to be raised with the executor of the will

She literally had no assets. She had a bank account. That's it. My mum had financial power of attorney so had distributed as per her wishes. Each child got £1000. 

bradders1983

The council do have a right to at least ask for it from the estate though (which they have done), it only seems "threatening" because of the circumstances and no doubt the legal jargon they use. They havent demanded you or your mother should pay it, and neither should you.

sharpe106

it still takes time the assets should not have been distributed so quickly, it does not exactly sound like a threatening letter.

JamoLew

The issue you may have is that POA ceases at death, therefore you mother shouldn't have distributed any assets before establishing whether anyone was owed anything from the estate

Andy_L

Gemm83 said:

JamoLew said:

That seems awful quick for probate and division of estate assets - as above, this needs to be raised with the executor of the will

She literally had no assets. She had a bank account. That's it. My mum had financial power of attorney so had distributed as per her wishes. Each child got £1000. 

That is potentially a problem. She had assets of £5k cash that should have been used to settle her debts. 

Thrugelmir

Executors have a legal responsibility to ensure all debts are settled. Distributing the estate so quickly seems rash. The money distributed needs to be repaid back to the Estate. 

[Deleted User]

Gemm83 said:

JamoLew said:

That seems awful quick for probate and division of estate assets - as above, this needs to be raised with the executor of the will

She literally had no assets. She had a bank account. That's it. My mum had financial power of attorney so had distributed as per her wishes. Each child got £1000. 

Did your mother gain probate? Follow the proper procedures for distribution of the estate of the deceased? Power of attorney ceases on the death of the person it is in force over, your mother is not legally allowed to access your grand mother's bank accounts once she died as the PoA ended upon death. It is then up to the Executor of the will, if there is a written, legal will in place to execute the will. Distribution of funds can only happen after all liabilities have been dealt with. 
As she had debts of £6,500 and assets of £5,000 the £5,000 should have been paid to cover the debt and the remaining debt would be written off. As the money has been distributed illegally the funds will need to be repaid to the estate and then paid to the council to cover the debt.
As, it appears the will or otherwise was not properly executed that process will need to be done correctly, now probably involving some form of legal professional. I would recommend you speak to Citizens Advice as soon as possible, lay out the facts and they will be able to properly advise you as to the best course of action.