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Loan after a death

Hello, my beautiful wife passed away in October 23rd and I’m currently going thru all our stuff, it’s very hard, she has a loan with Zopa which has 2 and a half years left to run.
do I have to keep on paying it?
we had about £1700 in the bank in our joint account, I think she owed about 4 or 5k what is the situation legally speaking regarding the debt?
many thanks in advance.

Comments

  • The debt should be paid from the estate, unless the estate is insolvent. Debts don't vanish and you cannot just stop paying it though how was she going to fund the loan repayments? Was it coming from your joint account? Is there any life insurance or death in service benefits? Any bank account of her own maybe with her final pay in it, any holiday owed etc? Anything in her name that you don't need like a car?

    Talk to Zopa and ask for their bereavement team and get some details from them

    My condolences on your loss
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,128 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 2 November 2022 am30 11:48AM
    Sorry for your loss. If the loan was in her sole name then you have no liability for it. The debt falls on her estate if the funds are there to pay it. If not, the debt would have to be written off. Are there other assets?
    Joint assets will form part of her estate. You need to inform the bank and have the account changed to a single name.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • sourcrates
    sourcrates Posts: 30,643 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts I've been Money Tipped! Name Dropper
    Liability for a debt will always remain with the named debtor, no one else.

    macman highlights the situation quite effectively above.

    It must be quite a hard time for you, so as a basic rule of thumb, anything in her name alone remains the liability of her estate, anything that is in joint names, now rests Soley on your shoulders.

    Hope that helps.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free wannabe, Credit file and ratings, and Bankruptcy and living with it boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.For free non-judgemental debt advice, contact either Stepchange, National Debtline, or CitizensAdviceBureaux.Link to SOA Calculator- https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php The "provit letter" is here-https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter
  • theoretica
    theoretica Posts: 12,685 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    When you tell the bereavement department of the loan company of your loss I hole they will give breathing space of a few months to begin to sort out her affairs.
    Unfortunately her estate won't just include money in a bank account, but if you own a house in joint names, if she had valuable jewellery...
    But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,
    Had the whole of their cash in his care.
    Lewis Carroll
  • TripleH
    TripleH Posts: 3,131 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    My condolences for your loss.
    It's a pain, but do ring and ask for the bereavement team initially.
    They are better trained and have more scope than the rigid script of the 'rank and file' to deal with issues.
    They were great when my mother had to sort out my dad's affairs after he passed.
    It also gives you time to get your head sorted without the worry of nasty chasing letters.
    Also I assume that paying for the funeral would come higher in priority than servicing a debt(?)
    May you find your sister soon Helli.
    Sleep well.
  • If she had PPI it should cover it.
    Nothing to see here, move along.
  • If she had PPI it should cover it.
    PPI stopped being sold really around the time of the miss-selling scandal, it's only really still sold with mortgages and more typically a more suitable service. Loan taken out in the last 5 years 99.999999% will not have it
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