Unknown debt applied for by late spouse advice ?

Kjy2021

Hi, My Father has recently passed away and we have uncovered a mass of credit card debt taken is his name and also he has taken out under my mothers name that she has no knowledge of at all. I have tried to report this on actionFraud but they say they can’t help! She has now been left with all this debt and no knowledge of any of her finances.   Can anyone give me any advice please? Thanks 

sourcrates

Hi,

Action Fraud are useless, I wouldn`t even bother with them.

More information would be handy, but as a general first step you need to ascertain how many credit accounts there are, who the creditors are, and how much is owed.

Any debts in your dads name, assuming there are no assets that he left, will be written off by the creditor, as debt cannot pass to anyone else, are you dealing with his estate ?

If there are assets, then the executor of the estate will need to pay whatever they have funds to cover, the rest will be written off.

You will need to write to the creditors about the debts in your mums name, unless there are sufficient funds to clear those as well, and fully explain the circumstances, ask they be written off due to identity fraud.

Make sure you provide a full in-depth account of what has happened.

Kjy2021

Thanks 🙏 

Infound out when going through his belongings and found him to have numerous credit cards in his and my mums names over 20 easily. I spoke to my mum and she was unaware of any of them and didn’t even know where her pension was paid into or any knowledge of a current account or bills etc 
so after some further digging I got a credit report for her so I could locate her accounts. So I now have a list of credit cards and my next step was writing to them all I think that most of them are set up as DD’s from my dads current account. I have found a pension payment for her being paid into a business savings account in her name (I’m changing the bank details tomorrow with dwp) she was down as secretary and 0 share director  for my the business but didn’t have anything to do with it, but then he transferred the money into a current account in her name then transferred it to his current account ! I really don’t think he knew what he was doing. 

So what I have done so far is transferred approx £1k from his current account that was her pension that had been transferred back to her current account as she had zero funds in there and reopened a new bank account for her and requested the transfer of funds from the old one and to close the old one 

His estate doesn’t have anything apart from a 5k car in his name and a computer etc 

am I able to sell the car for further funds for my mum ? 

All advise greatly appreciated 

sourcrates

If you are the executer, then you may want to check your obligations.

Google may help here.

You should pay what you can with the available funds, then write to the rest and tell them the situation.

elsien

If he’s applied for credit in mum’s name, would she have signed forms he stuck in front of her without asking any questions, or will he have forged her signature. If he forged her signature that’s one possible route she could look at to show she’s not responsible for them, 

Kjy2021

elsien said:

If he’s applied for credit in mum’s name, would she have signed forms he stuck in front of her without asking any questions, or will he have forged her signature. If he forged her signature that’s one possible route she could look at to show she’s not responsible for them, 

She said she hasn’t signed anything, I’m assuming that they were all done online 

MovingForwards

Don't do anything with the estate as it's insolvent. Write to all the creditors, say your dad has passed away and the estate is insolvent, if they wish to deal with it they can, but no one from the family is.

I'm assuming there isn't a house in your dad's name as that changes things.

Kjy2021

MovingForwards said:

Don't do anything with the estate as it's insolvent. Write to all the creditors, say your dad has passed away and the estate is insolvent, if they wish to deal with it they can, but no one from the family is.

I'm assuming there isn't a house in your dad's name as that changes things.

No house in his name only thing he has in his name is a car 

im unsure of all his creditors so as and when I letter comes for payment I will just have to write I assume. 

[Deleted User]

sourcrates said:

If you are the executer, then you may want to check your obligations.

Google may help here.

You should pay what you can with the available funds, then write to the rest and tell them the situation.

I would suggest Citizens' Advice would be a better start

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/dealing-with-the-financial-affairs-of-someone-who-has-died/

rather than random googling for legal advice

EssexHebridean

There are also solicitors who would do a reasonably priced one hour “ fixed fee” interview to help you understand your obligations as an Executor. 

elsien

Kjy2021 said:

elsien said:

If he’s applied for credit in mum’s name, would she have signed forms he stuck in front of her without asking any questions, or will he have forged her signature. If he forged her signature that’s one possible route she could look at to show she’s not responsible for them, 

She said she hasn’t signed anything, I’m assuming that they were all done online 

Maybe send a "prove it" letter for the ones in her name so that she can see how and when the loans/credit were taken out and how?