SUDDEN DEATH of my partner - Stuck in limited company with 2nd property - HELP!

daveyjp

You have my sympathy and can only speak of a similar experience a friend went through following the sudden death of her husband who ran his own very successful Ltd company, but he was the only director which added even more complication.

At the moment everything will be closing in on you.  Grief and the background and guilt of those decisions you took a short time ago.

Its difficult, but if possible try and park all the external issues.  Share the concerns with others, but concentrate on coming to terms with the loss of a loved one.

The Ltd company matters etc aren't important at the moment.  They need time to sort and you will have that time in the future. 

His personal finances are priority.  Bank accounts, savings, insurance, pensions etc.  A ltd company is a separate entity which needs managing properly, but can be parked for now.

jackieblack

I'm going to add to those saying don't become a landlord.  Sell the second property, wind up the company, pay off the mortgage on your home.

Sorry for your loss

elsien

I’m just going to put another thought out there as well. You refer to him as your partner. So I wanted to doublecheck were you married and did he leave a will? Because if the answer is no to both it  adds a  new layer of complexity that you may need to be thinking about in terms of intestacy and his personal finances. 

propertyrental

elsien said:

I’m just going to put another thought out there as well. You refer to him as your partner. So I wanted to doublecheck were you married and did he leave a while? will? Because if the answer is no to both it  adds a  new layer of complexity that you may need to be thinking about in terms of intestacy and his personal finances. 

just checking!

Tiglet2

buildingbee said:

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry if my post seems a bit shouty, but I desperately require some advice and hope someone can point me in the right direction.  My partner has suddenly died and other than the shock of coming to terms with his death, I'm struggling to manage everything financially and correctly.

I'll give you a bit of a background.  I'm going to put my hands up and state that financially I'm not savvy - That was my partner. Last year, he wanted to purchase a 2nd property to rent out as a little nest egg for us and a project for him to do.  I didn't feel it was right as I was happy in our own home without any worries or mortgage to pay.  However after many many arguments and our relationship at a strain, I was worn out and I gave up and agreed with him

We then took out a small remortgage on our own property as he said it would be cheaper than getting a buy-to-let.  This was then used, along with some extra cash to purchase the 2nd property cash outright.  However this was done via a limited company (SPV or something???).  Within that he setup both of us as directors.

Once we purchased the property, we began some renovation work which was almost completed, but he then suddenly passed away.  I am now left devastated, along with this 2nd property trapped in a limited company and a mortgage on our residential property.  I don't know how to manage our limited company.  I currently don't have any tenants that can pay some rent to assist, but the property has been advertised already, so I'm hoping to get someone ASAP.  However currently my finances are in a dire situation that I can't afford to pay a financial advisor/accountant to help me.  

I know it's my fault for stupidly jumping in without thinking and I'm really sorry for not learning about how to run a limited company or researching and I deserve everything I get, but this is what happens when you've been married for 35+ years and love, trust and rely on that person blindly.

To start off with, I'm looking for help to understand the inner workings of managing a limited company as a director and have some questions if I may ask:-

1. We originally paid a director's loan to the company to cover costs of repairing and refurbishing the property.  From this there's some money left over.  So am I allowed to withdraw any spare money from the company? If so, how?
2. With a mortgage taken out on our residential property, specifically to pay for purchase of the 2nd property within the limited and assuming that I eventually find a tenant, am I allowed to use a portion of that rental income from the limited company to pay off our residential mortgage? If so, how?

Thank you so much for any help or advise you give.

@elsien
I was confused too, but the bit in bold suggests they were married.

km1500

1. put the (Ltd company) house up for sale with an estate agent. Choose one near to you, walk in, explain the situation, get a valuation and get it listed on Rightmove

2. when it sells, choose  a solicitor . It will be being sold on behalf of the Ltd company. You will be signing as director of that company. The sales money will be paid into the company's bank account

3. Once completed, withdraw all the money to your bank account. There may be both personal and corporation tax implications - might be worth getting the help of an accountant - it shouldn't cost a fortune and most likely will save you some tax.

4. close the company down (notify Companies House) - again, maybe the accountant will help as you will need to produce a final set of accounts.

propertyhunter

Do not panic about the limited company situation. If there's money in the limited company, you use that to hire an accountant to manage the finances of the limited company and whatever you want to do with it. The accountant and/or estate agents may be able to help you to understand more about the earning potential of the buy to let property, and the implications. A good accountant can take all of the stress out of the administration of a limited company. If you are not wanting to keep the company, an accountant can help to sell the assets and wind it up. 

You can take the money out from the business and use it personally because it was a credit on the director's loan (your own money in the first place) but if you want to hire an accountant for the company's administration, use the business account funds to do this - as the cost can be offset against any profits for corporation tax. 

Sarahspangles

Are you using your partner's account?  Not a problem if so, it’s just that previous posts refer to a wife and two children.

I think before you do anything you need advice on benefits, and don’t rush into becoming a landlady just yet. 

elsien

Tiglet2 said:

buildingbee said:

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry if my post seems a bit shouty, but I desperately require some advice and hope someone can point me in the right direction.  My partner has suddenly died and other than the shock of coming to terms with his death, I'm struggling to manage everything financially and correctly.

I'll give you a bit of a background.  I'm going to put my hands up and state that financially I'm not savvy - That was my partner. Last year, he wanted to purchase a 2nd property to rent out as a little nest egg for us and a project for him to do.  I didn't feel it was right as I was happy in our own home without any worries or mortgage to pay.  However after many many arguments and our relationship at a strain, I was worn out and I gave up and agreed with him

We then took out a small remortgage on our own property as he said it would be cheaper than getting a buy-to-let.  This was then used, along with some extra cash to purchase the 2nd property cash outright.  However this was done via a limited company (SPV or something???).  Within that he setup both of us as directors.

Once we purchased the property, we began some renovation work which was almost completed, but he then suddenly passed away.  I am now left devastated, along with this 2nd property trapped in a limited company and a mortgage on our residential property.  I don't know how to manage our limited company.  I currently don't have any tenants that can pay some rent to assist, but the property has been advertised already, so I'm hoping to get someone ASAP.  However currently my finances are in a dire situation that I can't afford to pay a financial advisor/accountant to help me.  

I know it's my fault for stupidly jumping in without thinking and I'm really sorry for not learning about how to run a limited company or researching and I deserve everything I get, but this is what happens when you've been married for 35+ years and love, trust and rely on that person blindly.

To start off with, I'm looking for help to understand the inner workings of managing a limited company as a director and have some questions if I may ask:-

1. We originally paid a director's loan to the company to cover costs of repairing and refurbishing the property.  From this there's some money left over.  So am I allowed to withdraw any spare money from the company? If so, how?
2. With a mortgage taken out on our residential property, specifically to pay for purchase of the 2nd property within the limited and assuming that I eventually find a tenant, am I allowed to use a portion of that rental income from the limited company to pay off our residential mortgage? If so, how?

Thank you so much for any help or advise you give.

@elsien
I was confused too, but the bit in bold suggests they were married.

Ah ok. I missed that bit and just saw the word partner. 

youth_leader

So very sorry for your loss, sudden death is the very hardest to process. 

I cannot help with your property question, but do hope you are aware of the Bereavement Allowance you might be able to claim during these difficult early days.  Bereavement Support Payment: How it works - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)