Friends Husband passed away with credit card debt, any advice appreciated

tozer1

Hi,

I am new to this forum so please excuse me if this has already been raised in the forum pages.

My friends husband suddenly passed away sadly last week at the age of 44, he had debts in his sole name that my friend was unaware of and we are now trying to deal with the impact of this on her and her family.

He had a credit card debt with no protection on it, and also we think a couple of loans in the same position, unsecured loans.

Unfortunately he had cancelled the life insurance very recently, so although they own the house in joint names the mortgage too will not be cleared and there is little left with regards to equity.

I have a vauge recollection of a radio programme whereby someone said that the credit card debt dies with you. Does anyone know if this is accurate and whereabouts I can get further information for my friend.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help us out on this.

M

galileo

This is not correct. His estate will be liable to pay the debts off before any amounts remaining pass to the beneficiaries in the will (if there is one) or under the rules of intestacy if no will was made.

I would recommend you seek advice from a wills and probate solicitor.

DaisyFlower

Any debts should be paid from the estate, they dont simply die with you.

Not sure what happens if the estate doesnt have enough money, possibly a charge against the property but probate/solicitor will advise.

NickX

DaisyFlower wrote: »

Any debts should be paid from the estate, they dont simply die with you.

Not sure what happens if the estate doesnt have enough money, possibly a charge against the property but probate/solicitor will advise.

Well yes you are correct that the Creditor can claim the debt from the estate of the deceased.

However if there is not enough equity in the estate, then the debt does actually get written off.

This case is complicated because the house and mortgage are in joint names. It may be possible to minimize the liability to the card company, but a solicitor is really needed to look at the contracts in detail and advise accordingly.

DestroyingAngel_2

The deceased's estate or beneficiaries will inherit the debt. Your friend needs to contact the credit card company and speak to their "Bereavement" department for more advice.

NickX

DestroyingAngel wrote: »

The deceased's estate or beneficiaries will inherit the debt.

I agree that debts can be claimed from the deceased's estate but they do not get passed onto beneficiaries.

krystal-divination

When my father passed away i had to continue paying his bills and his credit card (not much on it) i was told the debt does not die its paid by next of kin or estate.

~~ K ~~ x

dmg24

krystal-divination wrote: »

When my father passed away i had to continue paying his bills and his credit card (not much on it) i was told the debt does not die its paid by next of kin or estate.

~~ K ~~ x

NickX is correct, the debt will come out of his estate.

NickX

krystal-divination wrote: »

When my father passed away i had to continue paying his bills and his credit card (not much on it) i was told the debt does not die its paid by next of kin or estate.

~~ K ~~ x

Well I am sorry to say that I do not think that you had any liability for your late father's debts, although they could have been paid from his estate if there was enough equity.

Of course the card companies won't necessarily tell you this and may attempt to continue to collect payments after the debtor has deceased.

Out of interest, who told you that the debt should be paid by next of kin ? I hope it wasn't a solicitor that said this.

krystal-divination

NickX wrote: »

Well I am sorry to say that I do not think that you had any liability for your late father's debts, although they could have been paid from his estate if there was enough equity.

Of course the card companies won't necessarily tell you this and may attempt to continue to collect payments after the debtor has deceased.

Out of interest, who told you that the debt should be paid by next of kin ? I hope it wasn't a solicitor that said this.

This was almost 10yrs ago now not sure if anythings changed now,
myself and brother we were executors, its so long ago i dont recal who advised my brother, all i can quote is my own experience.

galileo

I can absolutely assure anyone reading this that if a person dies his debts will only be paid off to the extent that there are assets in his estate to cover them. Debts do not pass to beneficiaries.