Housing association charging a months notice after death

sarah1972

Hi all
My grandfather sadly passed away on Nov 14th, he lived in an A2 dominion house. 

I have notified them and they say it’s a months notice which I will have to pay or they will request it from his estate. It was previously paid for by benefits which stop on death (understandably & quite right)

My question is, can they legally see his bank account to ‘know’ what’s in his estate? Can they legally chase me for it?

Thank you x 

la531983

If he has no assets how do they intent to claim anything? SImply tell them the estate is insolvent. And no, they cant go chasing anyone else, they are trying it on to try and get some cash.

sarah1972

la531983 said:

If he has no assets how do they intent to claim anything? SImply tell them the estate is insolvent. And no, they cant go chasing anyone else, they are trying it on to try and get some cash.

Well that’s my thinking. I’m guessing they can demand bank statements etc for me to prove that there is nothing? 

More stress in an already stressful situation and I was thinking they were trying it on x 

la531983

You dont have to prove anything. Any money in the account can be used to pay for his funeral, which is perfectly allowed, if nothing is left thereafter then its tough. Long as the "estate" is administered correctly there is nothing to worry about and no liability on anyone else.

If he was on benefits and was having housing paid from there how much do they they think he actually has? They likely know he had next to nothing.

Go into his house, get out today or tomorrow the stuff you want, and hand the keys back.

sarah1972

la531983 said:

You dont have to prove anything. Any money in the account can be used to pay for his funeral, which is perfectly allowed, if nothing is left thereafter then its tough. Long as the "estate" is administered correctly there is nothing to worry about and no liability on anyone else.

If he was on benefits and was having housing paid from there how much do they they think he actually has? They likely know he had next to nothing.

Go into his house, get out today or tomorrow the stuff you want, and hand the keys back.

Thank you. 

House clearance going tomorrow and I’ve told them the keys will be in the key safe x 

Robbie64

As others have posted, as long as you administer the estate properly, you personally don't owe a penny to the HA, it's the estate that does.

It's best to keep proper financial records in case the HA do come back to you. This should include all monies going to and from the estate. If there isn't enough money in the estate to pay anything to the HA, it's best if you keep clear records which show this.

Keep_pedalling

Does his estate have sufficient assets to pay for the funeral?

sarah1972

Keep_pedalling said:

Does his estate have sufficient assets to pay for the funeral?

I paid for his funeral prior x 

la531983

sarah1972 said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Does his estate have sufficient assets to pay for the funeral?

I paid for his funeral prior x 

You would be within your rights I believe to take the money from his bank account to "reimburse" you (if any), but someone else will confirm this. More preferable than a creditor claiming it.

sarah1972

la531983 said:

sarah1972 said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Does his estate have sufficient assets to pay for the funeral?

I paid for his funeral prior x 

You would be within your rights I believe to take the money from his bank account to "reimburse" you (if any), but someone else will confirm this. More preferable than a creditor claiming it.

Thank you, his will just says that I am executor and everything goes to me. Presumably that is after any creditors make a claim? X

Robbie64

sarah1972 said:

la531983 said:

sarah1972 said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Does his estate have sufficient assets to pay for the funeral?

I paid for his funeral prior x 

You would be within your rights I believe to take the money from his bank account to "reimburse" you (if any), but someone else will confirm this. More preferable than a creditor claiming it.

Thank you, his will just says that I am executor and everything goes to me. Presumably that is after any creditors make a claim? X

It is. Funeral costs take the priority followed by creditors such as the DWP, council tax, outstanding rent owed to landlords etc. You can reimburse yourself for the funeral costs. You can also reimburse yourself for any reasonable / essential costs which are unavoidable when dealing with, and settling, an estate, including death certificates, costs associated with emptying the house, as above, dealing with paperwork etc. What you may find a problem is if you leave outstanding debts to creditors when there would be enough money in the estate to cover these costs. As an executor you can then be held personally liable for paying creditors if you act unreasonably in disposing of assets.

Is the estate solvent (i.e do assets exceed the amount of debts)? Or are there funds left to pay some of the debts? If so, be very careful how you deal with the estate.