Debts after Death

Majenta_2

Hi all.. I'm new to the forums so I apologise if I've posted this in the wrong place or if a similar thread is already on the go!

I have a question regarding debt after death.... my mum passed away in Sept 2005 at the age of 56 and had a fair amount of credit card debts (around £16k in total)
I thought she'd left no estate but have recently found out that there's about £12k in a pension plan that she used to pay into when she was working. They've contacted me asking if I have the relevant Grant of Probate to claim the money.
She left no will and hadnt named anyone to look after her monies after her death. She had no husband when she died and I was her next of kin (I had a younger brother at the time of her death but he commited suicide 8 months after she passed away)

My question is what do I do now? I'm confused because it's alot of money, altho not enough to cover her debts, and it'll cost me to get Grant of Probate and I'm a single parent, so every penny is accounted for, it's not something I could afford!

Thanks

NickX

Firstly I am sorry to hear of your tragic circumstances.

Probate is very complicated and the question with regard to this Credit Card debt requires specialist advice which I doubt you will find here.

You really need a solicitor to look at your mothers affairs and determine the specific liabilities. The cost of the solicitor should be taken from your mother's estate. Good Luck

bethanyrayne

Majenta wrote: »

Hi all.. I'm new to the forums so I apologise if I've posted this in the wrong place or if a similar thread is already on the go!

I have a question regarding debt after death.... my mum passed away in Sept 2005 at the age of 56 and had a fair amount of credit card debts (around £16k in total)
I thought she'd left no estate but have recently found out that there's about £12k in a pension plan that she used to pay into when she was working. They've contacted me asking if I have the relevant Grant of Probate to claim the money.
She left no will and hadnt named anyone to look after her monies after her death. She had no husband when she died and I was her next of kin (I had a younger brother at the time of her death but he commited suicide 8 months after she passed away)

My question is what do I do now? I'm confused because it's alot of money, altho not enough to cover her debts, and it'll cost me to get Grant of Probate and I'm a single parent, so every penny is accounted for, it's not something I could afford!

Thanks

Try here http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1216.htm

Tell the CC companies nothing! They will already have written it off and I'm sure your mum would like you to have the money.

dmg24

Hi Majenta,

Welcome to MSE, and sorry to hear about your difficult situation.

You need to gain Letters of Administration in order to deal with your mother's estate. You can get more information on this from the Probate Service.

Unless the debt has been written off, you will need to use the £12K to put towards the cc debt (the rest will have to be written off).

I would give the Probate Service a call, and they can guide you as to what you need to do. It should be relatively simple, the forms are pretty straightforward (if a tad long!).

Hope that helps x

dzug1

The easiest thing is to tell the credit card companies that there is money available for them but if they want it they will have to arrange probate themselves and that you are not prepared to get involved. As a creditor of the estate I believe they are entitled to do this - probably after you have signed some forms. While you are at it ask them for the funeral costs (a preferred debt) which presumably you paid yourself.

Tell the pension company what you have done.

Alternatively (and maybe simpler but involves an outlay) get probate, reimburse yourself the funeral costs and probate costs and pay off the CC companies yourself. I wouldn't recommend hanging on to the money - eventually there's a risk you'd be knobbled.

A final thought - ask the pension company on what terms their plan is held. If it's in trust for next of kin then it MAY not be part of the estate and therefore not available to pay debts. You need expert advice on this though - I could be raising your hopes unjustifiably.

Edit - for probate read Letters of Administration - same thing, different circumstances

Majenta_2

bethanyrayne wrote: »

They will already have written it off and I'm sure your mum would like you to have the money.

How long after a death do the CC companies write off a debt?

dmg24

Majenta wrote: »

How long after a death do the CC companies write off a debt?

It can be straightaway, it can be years later. Do not assume that they will have written it off without checking. If you do, and they later find out that you received money from the estate, they will come after you, and quite possibly involve the police.

I agree that it is possible that the debt has been written off, but I would definitely check first.

bethanyrayne

Majenta wrote: »

How long after a death do the CC companies write off a debt?

There is no hard and fast answer to that one, however it's coming up to 3 years and I presume they're aware of date of death and where informed that there where no assets.

When did you recieve last communication from CC company?


When my mum died all I had to do to collect life insurance was get my surviving brothers and sisters to sign a letter saying I was going to administer the estate and the death certificate of one brother who had died.

There was no surviving spouse.

NickX

Majenta wrote: »

They've contacted me asking if I have the relevant Grant of Probate to claim the money.

The Credit Card company have clearly not written off the debt and are making roads to make a claim.

The question is whether the pension fund represents your mother's estate and as such is liable to such a claim.

What happens to the pension fund if they do not claim ? Who is going to be the benefactor of the fund ?

There are too many question marks here to make a judgement, and I think you need professional advice. The CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) would be a good starting point if you don't want to approach a solicitor straight away.

Majenta_2

NickX wrote: »

The Credit Card company have clearly not written off the debt and are making roads to make a claim.

The question is whether the pension fund represents your mother's estate and as such is liable to such a claim.

What happens to the pension fund if they do not claim ? Who is going to be the benefactor of the fund ?

There are too many question marks here to make a judgement, and I think you need professional advice. The CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) would be a good starting point if you don't want to approach a solicitor straight away.

The company that asked if I had Grant of Probate was the pension company.. they wanted to know if I had the relevant documents to claim her pension money, apologies for not being clearer on that! I didnt even know about the pension fund myself until a few months ago.
I havent heard from the CC companies for about 18 months or so.

NickX

OK, there was some confusion there. If the Credit Card company do not know of the Pension Fund, and believe there is no estate to make a claim upon then they MAY have written off the debt. If they have, then they should have told you this in writing to stop them coming back at a later date.

The question now really is, WHO owns this pension fund and is it classed as part of the estate ? Unfortunately I don't know the answer to this, but I am sure some legal experts would once they have examined the paperwork.