Credit card debt and bereavement

gracie83

I have asked this on the death/probate board and they said to ask here. 
My husband died far too young a month ago.  I have been working through his wallet and cancelling his accounts.  One of his credit cards has written back asking for a full payment of £2700 from his estate.  They have cancelled the direct debit to the card.  I know he has another card with around £5000 on it so I am expecting a letter after full payment soon (again they cancelled the direct debit).    My husband was ill and had to give up work so all we have is a joint mortgage (joint tenants), debts and an always empty joint current account.  I have £5000 in cards on my own.  We were fine paying the debts off monthly but there is no way I am suddenly find the cash to pay off £7500 in one go.  Without his ESA and PIP I am struggling to keep my own head above water. My wages cover the bills and food - there is no excess.   I have had to rehome my cats as I could not afford to keep them.  We have not even had the funeral yet and I am getting very worried about the finances.  Thank goodness his parents have paid for his funeral.  
Any advice - I know I need to get legal advice but again finances are a problem slowing this down.  Thank you

sourcrates

Hello,
Sorry for your loss, are you the executor of his estate ?

Whatever he had in terms of assets, cash etc, would be considered his estate, and should be used to repay whatever debts he had outstanding, in order of importance.

Any credit debts remaining after the estate has paid out will have to be written off by the creditors.

If there are not sufficient funds, then that’s just bad luck, no one else can be made liable for them, his creditors are fully aware of that.

fatbelly

That's pretty much what I just wrote, then realised that it could get technically more difficult than that (and didn't post it)

Let's assume it won't.

House is jointly owned so passes to you

From the estate, the funeral costs have first to be deducted.

If that leaves a negative then that's what I would tell the credit cards.

Post again if they don't give up at that point

tlc678910

Hi,
If you haven’t already you should check if you are entitled to a bereavement payment.  (I’m not suggesting this should pay his cards as it is for you and not part of his estate).
I’m sorry for your loss.
I hope you are able to claim and that it makes things a little easier.
https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment

fatbelly

Lots of useful info there

https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies

katiepoppycat

Sorry for your loss.  A couple of years ago my Mum died and we had to unravel the finances.  She didn't leave a will, and had no assets, other than a house jointly owned with my dad; and a bit of money in a current account.  The house passed straight to Dad, and half the contents of the joint account were deemed to be hers - which was the cost of the funeral.  We didn't submit for probate or letters of administration as the value of the estate was so low.  I then identified 2 credit cards that were in her name alone and contacted them, asking for the bereavement team.  I explained the situation - that there was no money in the estate - and both card companies wrote off the debts with minimal fuss and were gentle and professional; even the one that other people had found difficult to deal with.  Joint credit cards are a whole other ball game; but any debt that was solely in your husband's name does not automatically transfer to you.  There is some excellent advice available on the Deaths, Funerals and Probate board that I really benefited from at the time.  I hope this helps you too.

fatbelly

Just to clarify - all credit cards are sole name only. Even if there is a second card holder who has wracked up most of the debt - the liability is solely with the account holder.

Brenster

So sorry for your loss.  You have alot on your plate at the moment, so i would ask them to suspend all interest and payments for a period of time, to allow you to sort out more important things.  Then once you have time to process everything and have a clearer understanding of where you stand financially (mortgage paid off, life insurance etc) you can then contact them.  It all seems to soon to be increasing your already high stress levels and grief by trying to sort these issues, which on the face of it are minor and insignificant in comparison to your recent loss. 
Again i am sorry for your loss x