Debts after husbands death

Rockyg · 19 November 2012 at 11:28PM

I am a pensioner on state pension and pension credit
My Husband died in March and left me with a funeral bill of 4000 pounds ,he had a funeral plan of 2004 pounds leaving just under 2000 pounds short,
I have paid the stone mason 550 pounds and owe 1350 pounds to funeral director and 200 pounds to Cardiff council.
i am paying funeral director 100 pounds a month and Council 10 pounds.
i was coping with this but unfortunately there are other debts,any solely in my husbands name died with him ,but there is 3095 in my name on a credit card from our joint account,this was also my husbands but its in my name.i realise I will have to pay this myself.
The bank has passed this to a recovery agency, after giving them all my expenses utilities etc they want me to pay them all surplus to them,I refused as this would leave me with no spare income for emergencies whatever.
What is a reasonable amount I can offer them until all funeral exs are paid off and I would be willing to increase payments.

hcb42 · 19 November 2012 at 11:38PM

If you are jointly liable, then you would have to pay I would think. Have you explained your circumstances to the card co?

Sorry for your loss.

Incidentally, it doesnt help, but had to arrange three family funerals in last 5 years and they were all £2-2.5K (cremations). I see some very high figures on here in general , granted a burial is always going to be mroe.

Fire_Fox · 20 November 2012 at 1:56AM

Speak to the debt charities CCCS or Payplan about a Debt Management Plan, they will arrange a reasonable payment figure. In the mean time make token payments of £1 every month DO NOT miss this. You should not really have organised a funeral that you could not afford, the debts should have been paid from the estate first.

Rockyg · 20 November 2012 at 2:19AM

Thanks for your comments ,,i did say I was aware as the debt was in my name I knew I had to pay it....

When my husband died I placed it with a funeral director close to my home,It was 1 hearse,1 car for myself and stepson,this does not include any catering costs,very basic,i realise now it could have possibly been done cheaper ,but the last thing on my mind was going shopping round for prices.....

Wywth · 20 November 2012 at 10:17AM

Rockyg wrote: »

I am a pensioner on state pension and pension credit
My Husband died in March and left me with a funeral bill of 4000 pounds ,he had a funeral plan of 2004 pounds leaving just under 2000 pounds short,
I have paid the stone mason 550 pounds and owe 1350 pounds to funeral director and 200 pounds to Cardiff council.
i am paying funeral director 100 pounds a month and Council 10 pounds.
i was coping with this but unfortunately there are other debts,any solely in my husbands name died with him ,but there is 3095 in my name on a credit card from our joint account,this was also my husbands but its in my name.i realise I will have to pay this myself.
The bank has passed this to a recovery agency, after giving them all my expenses utilities etc they want me to pay them all surplus to them,I refused as this would leave me with no spare income for emergencies whatever.
What is a reasonable amount I can offer them until all funeral exs are paid off and I would be willing to increase payments.

I would suggest you pop over to the Debt Free Wannabe board, post your SoA there (details available on how to do this on a sticky thead there) and let's get you some help asap

You could do something similar with your local CAB office, but some are finding it difficult even to make an appointment, and I know at my local office appointments are being made at least a couple of weeks away, and it could take more than one apppointment to sort this out.
So post over on the DFW board and someone will help you very, very soon.
Look forward to seeing your post there

CAB_Swansea_Bay_representative · 20 November 2012 at 2:36PM

Hi Rockyg, thank you for your query regarding debts after husband's death.
Firstly I would suggest you seek help from your local Citizens Advice Bureau who can look at all your circumstances and consider other options such as an Administration Order or a Debt Relief Order as well as negotiating with your creditors and they may also be able to help you put in a late claim for a Funeral Grant as you are claiming Pension Credit. You can find your local Citizens Advice Bureau at www.citizensadvice.org.uk and to prepare for your appointment I would suggest you gather paperwork including a balance and account number for each creditor and original agreements if you have them, a detailed income and expenditure and proof of your benefit income and a credit reference if possible. In the meantime I would suggest you write to each of your creditors explaining your situation and asking them to hold action until you get advice. You can find more information about options for dealing with debts and negotiating with creditors at www.adviceguide.org.uk
Hope this is of assistance.

JuneS · 20 November 2012 at 4:02PM

Rockyg wrote: »

Thanks for your comments ,,i did say I was aware as the debt was in my name I knew I had to pay it....

When my husband died I placed it with a funeral director close to my home,It was 1 hearse,1 car for myself and stepson,this does not include any catering costs,very basic,i realise now it could have possibly been done cheaper ,but the last thing on my mind was going shopping round for prices.....

I had to arrange a funeral for a close relative recently.

I am not rich, but didn't particularly skimp on the funeral. As you say it's not a time when one typically shops around and I went with the Co-op to arrange things. I since discovered that if i used a local independent funeral director that are highly recommended, I could have got things a little cheaper.

The funeral arrangements appear similar to yours:
1 hearse plus 1 limo

But the coffin I opted for was not the cheapest, and for personal reasons I agreed to pay the funeral director a small fortune (over £350!) to arrange newspaper insertions, the printing of service sheets and some floral tributes.

Even so, the total bill came to £600 less than you appear to have been charged.

As a surviving spouse, are you entitled to a bereavement payment? If so, that's £2000

Mojisola · 20 November 2012 at 6:48PM

JuneS wrote: »

As a surviving spouse, are you entitled to a bereavement payment? If so, that's £2000

Pensioners can't claim this.

Wywth · 20 November 2012 at 7:21PM

Mojisola wrote: »

Pensioners can't claim this.

The OP may still be eligible if the spouse was not entitled to Category A state Retirement Pension when they died

https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-payment/eligibility

chesky · 27 November 2012 at 3:26PM

Have you asked the funeral director for a complete breakdown of the costs involved? I think you have been overcharged royally and if they didnt give you a full estimate beforehand, you might well consider challenging them.

McKneff · 27 November 2012 at 3:30PM

I'm surprised other people have been paid before the funeral directors.

They are the ones who are usually paid first, then priority debts, then debts.

Debts after husbands death

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