Friend wrote cheque to me day before he comitted suicide

Cara_Delfosse wrote: »

My friend of 40 years wrote me acheque the day before he tragically committed suicide. I paid the cheque in not even knowing he had ended his life. It got returned unpaid twice & has now been sent back payee deceased. I've been told by the bank that they cannot do anything & that I contact the person in charge of his affairs. I have tried to do this ( I know her well ) but she is not communicating, about anything. Does anyone know what I should do? As I said I was his best friend for 40 years. It's me wanting to keep one of his last wishes.

It is a legitimate debt of the estate and the executor should be told, in writing, that you expect it to be paid in due course, assuming that the estate is solvent.

You say you want o carry out his last wishes.

Did he owe you the money or was it payment for something you were to buy? If it was for a future purchase it may no longer be applicable.

The cheque is evidence enough of the deceased's wishes; the note simply backs up their intentions.

Look upon the cheque as a letter of intent, as if it says 'I ***** am giving you ****** the sum of £*****'

It is a debt that their estate must honour, providing there are sufficient funds.

What an awkward situation. I am very sorry for all involved. My initial thought is that this is probably not a small sum of money. If it is small or relatively small I would be of a mind to write a brief note to the executor saying that you are very sorry etc etc and return the cheque and tell them to forget all about it.

It might however be a significant amount and intended as an important parting gift to a friend. Only you can decide what constitutes 'significant,' but if it was £ 3figures I personally would leave it. People with depression or other disorders very often do strange, inappropriate and random things when 'on a high'. If however you wish to accept the gift then your only option is to write a diplomatic and sympathetic letter to the executors with a copy of the cheque and say that you choose to honour your friend's wishes in due course and put a charge on the estate for that amount. Maybe you feel now is not the time to press the matter, but you will be in touch later.

On a purely technical point if the gift is over the £3000 annual allowance, or your late friend made gifts totalling over this and his estate is liable for IHT, then the gift will have to be deducted from his allowance. This is for the executor to sort.

I hope things work out well for all parties.