DWP asking for money back from late husband

maxob

The DWP have just sent me a demand for money back which was for PIP overpaid to my late husband. I sent the death certificate and informed them of his death immediately after he died and had the certificate returned with a letter of acknowledgment. As his bank account was also closed on his death i have no way of checking these overpayments which they say were paid in error after his death. Am I legally obliged to pay this?

elsien

His estate is legally obliged to pay any debts which are still owing unless it was insolvent. 
Was there not a closing statement for his bank account which the executor should have records of showing all the transactions up to the point at which it was closed? If the money was paid before the account was closed, that should be evidenced on the bank statement, and if it was after the account was closed then presumably it would have just bounced back to the DWP?

nanapop1977

My MILs bank account was frozen quite quickly after her death but the closing statements took weeks to come through. Maybe the executor could ring the bank's bereavement team (very helpful in our case) to establish when the payment was made?
And yes as Elsien said, husband's estate will be liable to repay any overpayment.

SevenOfNine

I asked Barclays for the oldest statement they could give me for my Aunts A/Cs, needed for DWP to check her entitlement to a benefit she'd been claiming long term.

In response they promptly sent me about 200 pages, every statement for 6 years up to when she died & we'd closed her A/Cs, free of charge.

The estate is liable & it's unlikely to be a problem checking unless lockdown slows the process.  Did DWP not advise you when you first notified them he had died that there may some checks to be done (sorry, can't recall their terminology).

My condolences.

Keep_pedalling

If you speak to the bank’s bereavement department they can supply statements for any period you need.

74jax

maxob said:

The DWP have just sent me a demand for money back which was for PIP overpaid to my late husband. I sent the death certificate and informed them of his death immediately after he died and had the certificate returned with a letter of acknowledgment. As his bank account was also closed on his death i have no way of checking these overpayments which they say were paid in error after his death. Am I legally obliged to pay this?

As previously mentioned the Bank can give you the statements.  All you need to do is check the payments in after the bank was notified of the death - payments in can still happen, but payments out should have been stopped.
You are not liable for this, so don't feel pressured to pay any of your husband's debts.  The person dealing with this, the executor or the administrator will sort this.  If it is you, then its good to be clear that YOU do not pay from your money.  It comes from your HUSBANDS estate.
When he died, if accounts were closed, are we right to assume they were just in his name?  Where has the money gone from that account, is it with executors, used to pay a funeral etc?  

Garyone9

I’ve unexpectedly been named as executor of friends will. He was single living in rented property with very little money but he had a car on an HP agreement. I notified the company and they have sent me a form to sign saying as executor I will personally agree to be liable for any losses they make. I haven’t signed it, I just want them to come and collect the car. It was a 3 year HP agreement for 37 payments then the option to return the car or buy it. At time of death he had made 30 payments. What money he had also needs to cover the funeral cost. I’ve never done this before and it’s scary. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks

fwor

Garyone9 said:

I’ve never done this before and it’s scary.

The first thing to note is that you don't have to act as an executor if you don't feel qualified or able to do the work.

The second is that there are lots and lots (and lots) of guides out there on the internet explaining what to do as an Executor in almost every conceivable situation, so make sure you search thoroughly (and look only for articles that apply to the UK, as terminology used in other countries can cause confusion). You'll find that there are clear rules on which debts take priority so, for example, funeral costs won't go unpaid because a car loan company wants their money!

Mojisola

Garyone9 said:

I’ve unexpectedly been named as executor of friends will. He was single living in rented property with very little money

If you haven't started, it may be best not to do anything about the estate.

You can arrange the funeral and the funeral director can be paid directly from your friend's bank account and you can inform companies of his death but don't administer the estate in any other way.

elsien

If the estate is likely to be insolvent then you may be better to just renounce the role.
https://www.bereavementadvice.org/topics/probate-and-legal/insolvent-estates/
Executors can be liable if they distribute an estate incorrectly, but there is no obligation on you as an individual to be paying any of his debts for his car. Don't sign it. Debts have a priority to be paid and if there's no money left after the funeral then the debt dies with the person. 

Garyone9

Mojisola said:

Garyone9 said:

I’ve unexpectedly been named as executor of friends will. He was single living in rented property with very little money

If you haven't started, it may be best not to do anything about the estate.

You can arrange the funeral and the funeral director can be paid directly from your friend's bank account and you can inform companies of his death but don't administer the estate in any other way.

We’ve just been to do that. Funeral director said they will send invoice direct to bank. They did list me as executor on their document, couldn’t get out of it, but if I do nothing else, hoping I can say nothing more to do with me.