Car lease

cessna

Hi all - my mum recently passed away. She lived in a small remote village and was full time carer for my brother. She had a car on a lease agreement. I flew up the day after her death and have been using the car, I advised the insurance people and called the people she bought the car from and asked if I could continue to use it and they said yes. I also asked what options I had one of which was to buy the car for approx £9500 or hand it back now and pay £2k. I also mentioned that I understood that there would be a pint at which I could hand the car back and not pay anything which would be about 5-6 months from now. So this would be my best option financially as I can continue to use the car to that point - I really need one here for getting around to shops for food etc - there are no food deliveries here and I need to take my brother to various medical appointments. I normally live in England and the house is in Scotland. Anyway I just received a letter from the car finance people and they have said I have 4 choices, pay the £9500 (I don’t want to pay that amount)  sell the car to pay back the outstanding amount (its value would not cover the £9500) , so not an option, take on the agreement or pay £950 and hand it back now. Not sure why it’s £950 now. I told them what I had been told by the showroom and they said that I’d have to take on the agreement and then i could only hand back when I’ve paid 50% of the £9500, so the 6 month clause my mum had wouldn’t apply. Now they say that I’d not have to pay it but the estate would, however the estate is essentially money for my brother and myself so we would be paying it. I am not au fait with car lease agreements hence the query. Ideally I’d like to keep paying the monthly fee for 6 months and then hand it back. This would allow me to deal with affairs (one of which is trying to figure out how to organise future care for my brother) and hopefully lock down would have ended so I can go and look for cars, test drive them etc. Has anyone else been in the same position? 

MrFrugalFever

Hi,
Sorry to hear of your loss.
Depending on the type of 'Lease' agreement your mum has her car on, would depend on the options available to you. I would be careful about the wording used as a Lease refers to a contractual hire agreement whereby there is no option to purchase the vehicle at any stage. From what you have described it sounds like it is a Personal Contract Purchase, in which you will have more consumer rights.

The bit i am not overly sure about is where YOU stand as far as the finance being in your mums name.

Once 50% of the TOTAL AMOUNT PAYABLE, (that is RRP of car, any accessories, VAT, initial registration fees and interest applied) you may well have the option to Voluntarily Terminate the agreement. This is most likely what they have advised would be a possibility for you in 5-6 months time. Early Voluntary Termination may result in having to pay the sum of monies due to reach the 50% point which in this instance sounds like the £950 you mentioned.

In summary, (but without actually knowing the true facts and your actual agreement type), it would appear making a further 5/6 payments and VT the agreement is your best option.

 

fwor

cessna said:

Now they say that I’d not have to pay it but the estate would, however the estate is essentially money for my brother and myself so we would be paying it.

They are making an important point - this is a matter for the Executor of the estate to deal with. This may (of course) be you, but it's important that you keep the finances of the estate separate from your own, personal finances, until the point at which all assets and debts have been pulled together, debts and taxes paid and the residual funds (if any) distributed.

It may be a simple estate with no complications, but until the Executor has done their work, you should do nothing other than "business as usual" (e.g. paying instalments that may have been due prior to death).

bris

The car is part of the estate and as already explained the executor needs to deal with this properly. You say the estate only has money for you and your brother but this isn't strictly true, the debts need paying first before you and your brother can take anything. 

The car is a debt on the estate, you can remove that debt by taking on the lease personally or by paying the £950 and walking away. The executor, who ever that is, needs to decide what's best for the estate.

macman

As stated above, this is not a lease agreement, it's a PCP: two totally different things. You can VT with a PCP, but not with a lease.
Until you have reached probate, you can have no idea of the full financial state of the estate and what debts might be due. 
Who is the executor? if it's not you, then they decide what is to be done with the car, not you.

Nearlyold

The offer to "Take Over" the agreement would be you taking out a new finance agreement for the £9500.