Outstanding Bills From An Estate...

Elric

Hi

My mother-in-law has recently passed away and my wife and her brother are the two executors of the will.

There's only one debt she didn't pay before she died which was for £608 to her Halifax Credit Card - One executor (my wife) thinks they should just pay it out of the estate and her brother thinks that if they say there are no savings the debt will be written off and so it would be pointless paying it

As much as I would like the money to be with the family rather than a greedy bank I'm naturally concerned what might happen to them if they lie -

can the Halifax demand to see evidence of what the estate is worth?

Should they just pay it and be safe?

If they refuse to show them bank statements what will happen to the debt?

My concern is that neither executors can agree the best course of action, so your input is very welcome if you can offer us some

Regards, Elric

celyn90

Firstly, I am sorry for your loss.

I thought that you were oblidged to pay the debts out of the estate first. If the money is passed to the beneficaries before the debts are sorted, then the executors themselves become liable for the debt.

http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/en/legalhelp/leaflet10_13.jsp

I think that the probate registers are publicaly available too, so it would be quite easy to catch them out doing that. I'm not sure that you could access the savings accounts lawfully either unless the legal paperwork is in place.

I think they should just pay it.

TonyMMM

Just pay it ... The executors are responsible for paying debts before distributing the remainder of the estate according to the will. They will have to swear an oath to do so as part of the probate process - OK, they might get away with it, but it's really not worth the risk

Elric

Thank you for the link that was very helpful

I'm going to talk to them both tonight, I'll show them this and hope I can get him to agree to paying the debt!

Thanks again, Elric

justmarried06

Hi there - similar question but not quite, am hoping you might be able to guide me a bit.

My MIL has also recently passed away leaving no will - amongst her paperwork we've found some letters from DCA's including cr*pquest. It looks like she's been receiving these for some time - rather than just paying the debts (all in they are sizeable) should we follow the route of asking for evidence of the original credit agreement? From what I can tell there have been no payments made to them for 2 years but it does look as though she was making some in 2006 (although whether this is the same debt isn't clear).

Thanks

JM x

k1mmie

I thought credit cards were protected with life insurance. Might be worth checking. If this is the case you dont have to pay it. Might be worth asking the bank for the original terms and conditions and what level of cover was provided.

celyn90

k1mmie wrote: »

I thought credit cards were protected with life insurance. Might be worth checking. If this is the case you dont have to pay it. Might be worth asking the bank for the original terms and conditions and what level of cover was provided.

You might be covered if the card has an insurance clause or if insurance was part of the T&C but this is not always the case on normal cards unless you have opted (and paid for) the insurance service. You should still contact the creditor and inform them of the situation though (so they can freeze the account amongst other things), and they will be able to advise you if such a mechanism was in place on that particular card. It is always worth checking this sort of thing - likewise check to see if there were any insurance policies that are to be paid directly to the estate as these might cover expenses.