Wife death - Please help with where to begin...

Lostlove041025

sourcrates said:

I`m sorry to hear of your loss, the debts are really by the bye at the moment, nothing happens quickly in the debt collection world, you need time to grieve etc first.

I had to deal with my late Brothers estate 18 months ago, he had around 10k in unsecured debt, I sent one letter to each creditor and they all responded in the same way, by writing off what was owed.

You have had some good advice above, and with unsecured creditors, its best you inform them all in writing about what has happened, if your late wife`s assets do not cover her liabilities, make certain you tell them that, best to be upfront from the start, that there is no money to pay them.

Once you inform them of your wife`s death, and the estate won`t cover what is owed, most will take a commercial view and simply write the debts off.

You will need copies of the death certificate for each lender.

Utility debts etc will sometimes also be written off, or they may ask you as the homeowner to settle them, and a new account will be opened in your name.

Thanks very much for sharing your experience!
I am sorry for your loss 🙏 

powerspowers

I’m sorry for the loss of your wife. 

You have been given good advice about the debt, please don’t let it worry you. 

I’d also advise getting a benefit check in your own right, just to check you’re getting everything you are entitled to. 

RAS

Hi, please slow down.

You may feel the need to address everything but financial services move at snail pace.

Have you got a mate who can come round once a month whilst you open your partner's post? A lot will be offers of credit, or discounts on purchases. Ignore or ask your mate to send a notice regarding her death.

A few will be about debt. Hold fire. Start by sending a copy of her death certificate.   No more.

At some point you'll know more about the finances. I'd suggest that you come back for more advice. 

Given your partner was unwell for 2 years before her death, creditors might agree to agree to cancel the debt. It will take time but you may well find the bulk of the debt written off.

Lostlove041025

Evening everyone,

I'm back and could really use some advice and opinions. It's been almost 3 months since I was widowed — I somehow managed to get the probate granted. Now I need to start sorting out my wife’s debts.

Am I right in thinking I should tackle the secured debts first — like the house and the car? I already got a letter from the bank about the car, which I use daily. It gave me three options:

1. Return the car to them so they can sell it at auction.

2. Pay off the remaining £8.5k and keep the car.

3. Transfer the remaining loan into my name and keep paying it for about 4 more years, then the car’s mine.

As for the house we lived in, it’s a small terraced place worth around £160k. I think it might be the first thing to deal with, but I don’t yet know what the bank will offer since they didn’t want to discuss anything until I got the probate. The remaining mortgage is about £27.5k.

There’s also a life insurance policy paid into the estate — after covering funeral and utilities, roughly £27k is left.

I was thinking to pay off the car completely now, cover the remaining mortgage balance, and then transfer the rest of the mortgage to my name.

But there’s more unsecured debt than I expected — about £38k instead of the £22–23k I thought.

Honestly, I’m feeling pretty desperate. 

The house has a huge emotional value for me — it’s where my wife and I spent 18 years together, and every part of it holds memories. The idea of losing it on top of everything else is incredibly hard to even think about, and I’m struggling with how to handle all of this while still grieving.

kimwp

Lostlove041025 said:

Evening everyone,

I'm back and could really use some advice and opinions. It's been almost 3 months since I was widowed — I somehow managed to get the probate granted. Now I need to start sorting out my wife’s debts.

Am I right in thinking I should tackle the secured debts first — like the house and the car? I already got a letter from the bank about the car, which I use daily. It gave me three options:

1. Return the car to them so they can sell it at auction.

2. Pay off the remaining £8.5k and keep the car.

3. Transfer the remaining loan into my name and keep paying it for about 4 more years, then the car’s mine.

As for the house we lived in, it’s a small terraced place worth around £160k. I think it might be the first thing to deal with, but I don’t yet know what the bank will offer since they didn’t want to discuss anything until I got the probate. The remaining mortgage is about £27.5k.

There’s also a life insurance policy paid into the estate — after covering funeral and utilities, roughly £27k is left.

I was thinking to pay off the car completely now, cover the remaining mortgage balance, and then transfer the rest of the mortgage to my name.

But there’s more unsecured debt than I expected — about £38k instead of the £22–23k I thought.

Honestly, I’m feeling pretty desperate. 

The house has a huge emotional value for me — it’s where my wife and I spent 18 years together, and every part of it holds memories. The idea of losing it on top of everything else is incredibly hard to even think about, and I’m struggling with how to handle all of this while still grieving.

Hi there, I'm so sorry about your situation. To help with the practicalities -

Have you written to each of your wife's creditors to inform them of her passing and request the debt to be written off?

Additionally, did the insurance policy get paid to the estate or to you?

Also, how was the house owned between you and your wife - as tenants in common or joint tenants?

MEM62

kimwp said:

Lostlove041025 said:

Evening everyone,

I'm back and could really use some advice and opinions. It's been almost 3 months since I was widowed — I somehow managed to get the probate granted. Now I need to start sorting out my wife’s debts.

Am I right in thinking I should tackle the secured debts first — like the house and the car? I already got a letter from the bank about the car, which I use daily. It gave me three options:

1. Return the car to them so they can sell it at auction.

2. Pay off the remaining £8.5k and keep the car.

3. Transfer the remaining loan into my name and keep paying it for about 4 more years, then the car’s mine.

As for the house we lived in, it’s a small terraced place worth around £160k. I think it might be the first thing to deal with, but I don’t yet know what the bank will offer since they didn’t want to discuss anything until I got the probate. The remaining mortgage is about £27.5k.

There’s also a life insurance policy paid into the estate — after covering funeral and utilities, roughly £27k is left.

I was thinking to pay off the car completely now, cover the remaining mortgage balance, and then transfer the rest of the mortgage to my name.

But there’s more unsecured debt than I expected — about £38k instead of the £22–23k I thought.

Honestly, I’m feeling pretty desperate. 

The house has a huge emotional value for me — it’s where my wife and I spent 18 years together, and every part of it holds memories. The idea of losing it on top of everything else is incredibly hard to even think about, and I’m struggling with how to handle all of this while still grieving.

Also, how was the house owned between you and your wife - as tenants in common or joint tenants?

Lostlove041025 said:

The house we live (+-£175k if matching the last sale on our street of a similar one) in is in her sole name with a mortgage of ca.£28k. 

@Lostlove041025 Sorry for your loss.  Did you take the advice to write to your wife's creditors?  If so, what was the response?  In respect of the insurance money, I would be tempted to clear the mortgage and secure your house rather than the car.  Of course, we do no know what your situation is in terms of income and your ability to service any loans and this will have an impact on how you deal with things. 

Remember that, in short, you cannot inherit debt but the estate is responsible for it.  Tread carefully.        

sourcrates

I think it was mentioned earlier in this post, that there is a hierarchy when it comes to paying off debts after death, and for legal purposes, everything should be conducted in writing only, not email, not over the phone.

Funeral expenses top the list, then secured debts, and any tax bills, that she may have had.

All unsecured debts come next, whatever money is left in the estate can now be used to settle these, you write to the creditors concerned, and ask them to submit their invoice for payment, by a certain date, usually 28 days, you then pay them in the order you receive them back.

Once the money in the estate is used up, that is it, the estate becomes insolvent, and no more payments can be made, any debts left outstanding at this point will not be paid, and you should then inform the affected creditors in writing of this outcome.

They will then have no other choice but to write the debts off as unrecoverable, as debt does not transfer into another persons name, ever.

That is the basic principle you should work by, had to do the same thing for my late Brother two years ago now, good luck, I know its not an easy job to do.

molerat

sourcrates said:

Once the money in the estate is used up, that is it, the estate becomes insolvent, and no more payments can be made, any debts left outstanding at this point will not be paid, and you should then inform the affected creditors in writing of this outcome.

They will then have no other choice but to write the debts off as unrecoverable, as debt does not transfer into another persons name, ever.

But the estate is not insolvent, it has c £150K in assets that were wholly owned by the deceased.

sourcrates

molerat said:

sourcrates said:

Once the money in the estate is used up, that is it, the estate becomes insolvent, and no more payments can be made, any debts left outstanding at this point will not be paid, and you should then inform the affected creditors in writing of this outcome.

They will then have no other choice but to write the debts off as unrecoverable, as debt does not transfer into another persons name, ever.

But the estate is not insolvent, it has c £150K in assets that were wholly owned by the deceased.

For correct context, you should have quoted my whole post.

In that case if enough capital vests in the estate, to cover all her liabilities, then so be it, I was simply pointing out how to deal with creditors and in what order, and also what happens if there are insufficient funds to cover all liabilities.

Lostlove041025

MEM62 said:

Lostlove041025 said:

The house we live (+-£175k if matching the last sale on our street of a similar one) in is in her sole name with a mortgage of ca.£28k. 

@Lostlove041025 Sorry for your loss.  Did you take the advice to write to your wife's creditors?  If so, what was the response?  In respect of the insurance money, I would be tempted to clear the mortgage and secure your house rather than the car.  Of course, we do no know what your situation is in terms of income and your ability to service any loans and this will have an impact on how you deal with things. 

Remember that, in short, you cannot inherit debt but the estate is responsible for it.  Tread carefully.        

Thank you very much for reading my previous post too! And for the kind words! 

Yes, the house in her sole name..

I am not able to service any additional loans due to me own debts

I was thinking as I need a car anyway and know this one well by spending a few hundreds on it already I would rather keep it instead of buying an unknown again. It is also only £20 per year for the road tax..

The house I ideally wanted to pay all money left in and the rest of the mortgage transfer to me. As well as I will be able to spread the mortgage over a long amount of years that I doesn't dramatically affect my finances.

I understood that only bank-lender will have right to put a note on deed while it still mortgaged, hoping that unsecured lenders would not be able to add any other caveats on the deeds as they will be in mine name.. 

I might be wrong though.. it is my plan so far.

I have put a Gazette note too a few weeks ago. And informed all lenders about the wife's death via emails/online forms.
Some of them already sent to me the last statements, from some I still have not heard yet.