Credit Card holder death.
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My mother and I ignored the land issue for a decade, until a red bill arrived requesting back payments and extra charges if we did not pay.
Addressed to whom? Your mother or your already-late father? Was it from the French council or a UK debt collector?
Those factors would affect my decision as to whether to chuck it in the bin, on the basis it's not my land and not my problem.0 -
Addressed to my father from a French council. My mother feared accumulating a large debt.Malthusian wrote: »Addressed to whom? Your mother or your already-late father? Was it from the French council or a UK debt collector?
Those factors would affect my decision as to whether to chuck it in the bin, on the basis it's not my land and not my problem.0 -
Norman_Castle wrote: »It might be beneficial asking on an ex pat site such as this https://britishexpats.com/forum/france-76/ Its likely there will be someone who has dealt with a similar situation and might be able advise you.
That was my next suggestion expat sites with experience of local French politics it works very different to the UK.
Wooden buildings and a shed full of hay do not take a lot to remove.0 -
Part of the structure is concrete and I've have been told that it would take a permit to remove the ruined chalet. It was made clear to me that the debris would need to be disposed of properly.getmore4less wrote: »That was my next suggestion expat sites with experience of local French politics it works very different to the UK.
Wooden buildings and a shed full of hay do not take a lot to remove.
I've never visited the place. I'll have a look at the expat site.0 -
Addressed to my father from a French council. My mother feared accumulating a large debt.
I don't blame her, but personally I would have written "retournez a sendeur, addressee est mort, good moaning" on the envelope and put it back in the post. Now you have the same problem.
To pin a debt on your mother they have to pin ownership of the land on her first, which, as the title hadn't been transferred, means wrangling about the distribution of your father's estate in an English court in order to force the title upon her, for the sake of €100 a year.
Obviously the legally correct course of action is to take ownership of the land and do whatever is needed to sell it for a euro to one of the adjacent landowners, but people occasionally get away with doing the practical thing rather than the legally correct thing.0 -
Malthusian wrote: »I don't blame her, but personally I would have written "retournez a sendeur, addressee est mort, good moaning" on the envelope and put it back in the post. Now you have the same problem.
To pin a debt on your mother they have to pin ownership of the land on her first, which, as the title hadn't been transferred, means wrangling about the distribution of your father's estate in an English court in order to force the title upon her, for the sake of €100 a year.
Obviously the legally correct course of action is to take ownership of the land and do whatever is needed to sell it for a euro to one of the adjacent landowners, but people occasionally get away with doing the practical thing rather than the legally correct thing.
The property is still in my fathers name, but i suppose by paying my mother claimed ownership. No adjacent landowners are interested in the land. The ruin should be pulled down, as it is illegal structure in a agricultural zone. Anyone, who takes it on knows that they should legally remove the structure.
I suppose I'll have to get an up to date valuation, but that might be strange, as it is just a grid reference. There's no address.
It going to be pain to anyone who inherits from me, unless I pull down the ruined structure somehow. If the ruin comes down it should remove the annual fee.
I've been a long term carer and I just haven't got money to waste on a liability.
I don't know who to see first once, once I gathered as much details as I can re assets/finances for probate. An English solicitor for advice re land or a french solicitors. Or no solicitors -just try and get a valuation.
When the acquaintance looked into the land several year back, he was told one thing by one french department and something else by another.0 -
What have you got against the do nothing option?0
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I would brush up on French law as bit as well as this asset is covered by French not UK law.
google should find relevant info.
How come this belonged to your father in the first place?0 -
What have you got against the do nothing option?
Do you mean not mentioning on probate forms, due to the land having zero value?
One of the issues is my mother claimed pension credit and one of the questions on the benefit form is "Do you own any land?" She had notified the DWP of this zero value land with a squatter.
I aware that the DWP sometimes ask to see banks statements/accounts after probate to make sure that people were not over-paid. Mentioning this land, then not mentioning later could raise questions.
I'd love to ignore the land issue, but I wouldn't wish to get into trouble either.0 -
getmore4less wrote: »I would brush up on French law as bit as well as this asset is covered by French not UK law.
google should find relevant info.
How come this belonged to your father in the first place?
He inherited it from a relative.0
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