I'm new to this forum so I hope I'm doing this right. My mother passed away a couple of weeks ago. She was well organised and made sure her affairs were in order. She made a will and made sure there was enough money in the credit union to pay for her funeral. When I went to the credit union with the death certificate and the will I was informed that it would take between 6 - 8 weeks to sort out. I was also told that even though she left the money to me in her will the money would go to the person she named on the nomination form and they couldn't tell me who that is. This seems to me to be a very long time to sort out is this normal?

Hello there, I have deep concern in regards to the DWP and what they're claiming I owe them from my late fathers estate, he unfortunately passed away 2 years ago of Motor Neurone Disease and left my mother with a few outstanding debts. We sold a property prior to his death and the money was transferred to me in advance due to the fact his ability to eat, drink, think and communicate deteriated rapidly and it came to a point he could barely type on an ipad to speak so therefore did the best he could in offering me the money they had prior to his death. Upon his death, I used the money to pay off existing debts outstanding upto about £35,000.00, once the debts were paid I then invested their money into a property which I and my sister now pay the rest of the mortgage on to give my mother a roof over her head and the final yet small amount of funds available went to the solicitor for doing absolutely nothing yet charging for it. The DWP although two years since my dads death are saying there was a period he was overpaid pension credit and we now owe them £5800(ish) pounds. I have no doubt that we owe them this money because although he was dying and was entitled to pension credit, there was a point we had enough money to not claim the maximum amount entitled however due to ill health my father didn't change that and I wasn't aware that this would be the outcome. My question is, is it possible to pay back half the outstanding balance and call it a day or will they basically demand the money in anyway shape or form, they've told me via telephone that I have a month, unless I can't pay up I have two years in which they want a lump sum (based on bank statements) The thing is I'm not executor, I'm just trying to stop my mum from suffering anymore.

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2012/11/disabled-man-dies-after-atos-stops-benefits-chris-grayling/ Makes awful reading. Apparently 1700 deaths are being linked to failed ATOS assessments. Perhaps the government should release full details of their risk assessment into this policy, as surely they must have told ATOS on what basis to assess people as being fit for work.

My brother passed away in hospital yesterday. He had been in for 9 weeks. He was initially admitted suffering uncontrollable fits. At the time nobody knew the cause and it was assumed he had been drinking too much. He was in intensive care for a week where they managed to control the fits. he was left with some brain damage as a result of oxygen starvation. He was moved to high dependency where he made such good progress over the next week or so they wanted to discharge him to a psychiatric hospital ( he has had mental health problems for many years). The only reason they wouldn't take him was because he had mobility and speech issues due to the effects of the fits. Moved to a stroke ward where he was given physio etc and was making such good progress we had a meeting about his discharge to a stroke rehab unit. It was just before this that he developed a problem with his blood. We had no idea at the time but have since been made aware that the week before he was given a transfusion whilst a relative was visiting. this problem became much worse and still we were unaware of the problem. Two weeks ago my sister went to visit him, we hadn't been for a few days. She thought he was ignoring her because of this. He was unresponsive and had his head turned away. When she got round the bed it was obvious he had had a stroke. He was staring with the right side of his face drooped. Nurses were alerted a dotor came and said he had had a stroke. He ordered a scan. I arrived and waited 2 hours. Nothing happened. Very few staff around. More visitors came so we left but still nothing was done. I phoned later that night still no scan. we were beside ourselves as we had all been made aware from publicity that action needs to be swift. It was sunday morning before we heard he had his scan. It was tuesday when we got to see the consultant who showed us the scan images that revealed the extent of the stroke damage. Half his brain destroyed. Obviously the prognosis was very poor. The reason he gave for the lack of treatment was that the blood problem prevented them from giving emergency care. This was the first time anybody discussed it. They didn't know what the problem was even though it had been there for at least 4 weeks! The following Saturday we arrived and he had greatly deteriorated. Again no staff to speak to. His ts hirt was dirty his mouth was in a terrible state. His teeth hadn't been cleaned for days. Visited monday still no staff that would talk to us.I phoned again on the evening and got quite angry when again the staff nurse would tell me nothing. I pointed out his lack of basic nursing care. i was very upset. Tuesday morning my sister and I get a call at work saying we needed to come in as his condition had deteriorated and doctor wanted to speak to us! This was Visited Wednesday and Thursday asked about the blood problem but nobody would answer He was in such a low state that they could do no more for him and would only keep him comfortable. On friday they withdrew fluids and all medication and would no longer feed him.Again I asked about the blood problem, what had been done to investigate it, what had been eliminated. The only answer I got was telling me what they would have done if he hadn't had the stroke. We were called Saturday morning but were minutes too late, he died without us. We are supposed to collect the certificate tomorrow but I am so angry that we don't even know what was wrong with him in the first place! Is that it? Will we never know? 9 weeks in hospital with no definite diagnosis only a stroke after 7 weeks! What went wrong? How can I go further with this? Thanks in advance

Hi, a friend of mine has had numerous letters and txt messages from Lowell for a while regarding an old catalogue bill. Yesterday, she received a letter from them which was addressed to her estate and saying that they were sorry to hear of her death and that they had trained people who would speak to the family with sensitivity, and to call to discuss probate! Has anybody else had anything like this, is this a tactic used by this company? It has definitely come from them but could somebody else have told them she's dead as a joke? Thanks

My aunt who has recently died and her tenancy agreement states that upon her death the property must be vacated within 28 days. It was a life time tenancy agreement where she paid peppercorn rent. The agreement was made in 2000 when she sold the freehold property to the current landlord. The task of clearing the property within the time scale will prove to be difficult (before selling the property her family had lived in the house through many generations and nothing was dispossed of) and the will states contents are to be distributed to various family and friends both in the UK & abroad. The landlord is a difficult person to deal with and has no compasion, he wants the property back to modernize and sell on. Is there any legal rights we have to extend this deadline. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi, I was caught shoplifting yesterday in a supermarket a really small item, less than 5£ in value. I left the store and an employee was waiting for me outside. He asked me if I had something in my pocket I did not pay for and I took the item out straight away admitting it. He then took me to a small room were I was patronised by the store manager for a while. My details were taken from my drining license as well. The manager then went away with the guy that stopped me and when came back said that his decission was to ban me for life to enter any branch of the supermarket store and was also banned to enter the shopping center for 6 months. The police was not involved and was informed that an RLP letter was going to be sent to me to pay a quantity as a fine. I have read similar threads and I want to believe that since the police was not called in the fisrt time it is unlikely to be called now, althought this is causing me a great deal of anxiety. What worries me the most is that the manager saw my badge from work and mentioned that they may contact my employer and let them know and that I would be fired. When being about to leave the room the guy that stopped me mentioned that stopping me was no coincidence as they have been monitoring me for a while.... My questions are: Will they decide to call the police after all? If they do, will the police come to my house? Could they contact my employer and inform them of what happened? If they saw me taking other items in the past, why did they not stopped me then and there? Can they use this if the police is finally called? I am really scared and very ashamed of what I did. I see things clear now and what looked like a game before is now my worst nightmare... I have not been able to eat or sleep since this happened... I would take whatever happens to me, fine, court, being fired... whatever, but is the anxiety I cannot manage. Please help! Thanks

Of Mr Martin Kay Such a great asset, to this equally great website. R.I.P.

A friend of mine recently passed away from cancer. Not long before she passed away her mother died. Her mothers estate had to go through probate. Shortly before my friend died her mothers probate was completed and my friend was due to receive appx. £20k inheritance once her mothers house has been sold. However my friend died before receiving the inheritance. Aside from a couple of hundred pounds my friend had no assets, ie no house, car, jewellery or savings. She did have however around £20k worth of debts to 2 credit cards and 2 personal loans. My question is what happens to the inheritance money (once her mothers house has been sold)? As it stands my friends estate does not have to go through probate because she had below £5k in assets. Once her mothers house is sold and the inheritance comes through would her estate then need to go through probate and the debts be paid off or does the debt get written off and the inheritance passed onto her children?

Did anyone have this ?

New to this site so hoping I have posted in the correct place. I would be most grateful if someone could advise me on this matter. My husband died recently leaving a £3,800 debt on his credit card. The only asset in his estate is his half share of the house which we own as "Tennants in Common". There is no money available to pay off this debt. We also have a lifetime mortgage via an Equity Release scheme. The title to my late husband's half share goes to his son by his first marriage in his will. Can I be forced to sell the house to pay this debt - and how so given the lifetime mortgage? Many thanks

Hi, am hoping I can get some pointers about my situation. My mother died on 11 July this year, she lived in a 1 bed-roomed flat via Bradford Council (incommunities now) on a secured tenancy. She had been a council tenant since 1993 (although not the same house, but, the same tenancy as she did inter-tenant swaps) she was in her last property for 7 years. My nephew, her grandson, now 17 (well 18 tomorrow 13 October) has lived with her for several years, my mum pretty much brought him up, although not legally by adoption or anything. Now on the death of my mother we applied top the housing officer for a succession of the tenancy to my nephew, we were told to provide proof that he was residing for last 12 months. This has been hard to come buy, as he was under 18 and all the bills were in my mums name. Anyway, we only notified the council 2 weeks ago as we were grieving, we had an appointment where we were told to go gather evidence and report back. This appointment was 8 days ago. We have now received a letter yesterday stating the succession application was unsuccessful as we had not provided prove of residency. The only way we can prove it is by Subject Access Requesting his last school where his school records will show the address of my mothers flat. We were given 5 working days to get this proof which is not long enough. In their letter, they have given my nephew 72 hours to vacate the premises. Question. 1) Can they just come straight in an change the locks and throw my nephew out? 2) Should they have given more time for us to prove residency? 3) Can we appeal? a) Is there any basis in law where we can appeal, or is it just at the discretion of the housing office? 4) Where do we go now? Please any suggestions at all would be great, we don't want to be emptying the house with little under 48hrs to go. My nephew will have no where to live, he does not see or associate with his mother or father, and I just do not have room, although I will not see him sleeping rough so will offer him a couch, as I have a family of 5 in a 2 bedroom house myself. Thanks in advance David

The government has been warned it must urgently fix flaws in its support system for successful asylum seekers, after a destitute child starved to death in temporary accommodation in Westminster. Further tragedies are increasingly likely as more asylum claims are processed while support funding dries up, organisations claim. Details of the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of ‘child EG’ and the unrelated death of his mother ‘Mrs G’ surfaced in a serious case review and a letter sent to the government by child safety experts at Westminster Council, a flagship Conservative borough. The case review found that the family had become dependent on ‘ad hoc’ charitable handouts despite a successful asylum claim because of ‘significant problems’ transferring the family from Home Office to mainstream welfare support services. Source: http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/care/child-starved-to-death-after-benefits-delay/6524052.article Very sad. A bit more: http://www.insidehousing.co.uk//6524061.article

A friend recently died. He is married with his own home and buiness. My query is re his personal credit card debts. Are these written off, or is his spouse liable for them, or even his company? Thanks

Hi, My mother in law past away yesterday. After her death my wife came to know that her mother was in debt. some thing she never discussed with my wife. Now we are concerned about her debt and the effect it will have on my father in law. As my mother in law always dealt with all money related issues, my father in law is not sure exactly how much debt she was in and with whom. Our biggest concern at this moment his there house. Both my parents in law were pensioners. I wonder if some one could guide me where should i start first, will my father in law will be liable for his wife's debt? Will he lose his house if he is unable to pay back? Does he have any rights as he is a retired pensioner. I do know that they were refused IVA or IVF (not sure which is correct) due to there age. Much appreciate any ones help. Thanks

My father has died and the joint property needs to pass in title to my mother. There is already a good chain of title with two conveyances dating back to early 1960s and a good abstract of title so it would seem that all that is needed is a transfer of title from him to her. Is there a standard form of deed that can be executed under seal to do this? Are the parties the executors of.... as transferor and the wife as transferee. It sounds easy to do without a solicitor but where can you get the deed? Would there be any advantage in registering this as registered land at the same time?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18203139

Hi, My Father-in-law passed away on 24th May 2012 and is survived by his spouse. He left a will leaving all his estate to his wife and as the value is under IHT we will be applying for probate ourselves. My ex wife and I are the executors of the will. All seems straight forward except that his wife does not appear on the deeds. The house was buit in 1960 and they have lived in it ever since. We have checked on the Land registry website and it comes up no details held. We have the house deeds so what is the next action. I assume we have to wait for probate first ? Many thanks Stevew48

My grandfather died approximately 20 years ago, I have located his will and probate which passed the property he owned to his wife and then following his wifes death to his daughter- (who is my mother). She is now 75 on checking all the documents for the property its still in my grandfathers name and has never been transferred she has all the title deeds so I assume it is not registered with the land registry as the house was a self build from my grandfather, I have a document registering the land but not the property. can anyone advise ? Should I initially get all the deeds and get the property registered with land registry and what will happen with the missed transfers my mother does not seem worried but if anything happens to her I would like to be prepared and get it all in her name now any advise appreciated I can not afford a high legal bill so would like to tackle this myself. The estates of all people involved would be well below the threshold for inheritance tax. Also I have the will /probate of my grandmother leaving her estate to my mom

Hi, My friend died a couple of years ago and I am one of the administrators of the estate. The debts we knew about were repaid from some life insurance and the balance went to his widow. His widow has now received a phone call, chasing a debt of which we have no knowledge. How would you suggest we proceed or should we ignore it? Should we contact them and ask them for full details of the alleged debt? If so, would you suggest we write or call? Is the debt still enforceable if they dont have a copy of the CCA?- The DRA is Phillips & Cohen. We believe the debt would more than likely be statute barred, however, we don't know whether a CCJ has ever been made. Am i right in saying that if a CCJ has been made, the debt could still be enforceable, even after the six years? Any advice, gratefully received.

Can anyone help? My partner ( engaged, not married ) signed his car over to me ( via DVLA) in October last year, he has outstanding finance on the car through southern finance which, with their knowledge, i have taken over paying. He unexpectedly and very suddenly passed away January 16th. His father - who is sorting out his estate, told me verbally that i could keep the car, but i have now heard rumours that his family want it back. Where do i stand? The finance company are ok with me paying the loan off, ( do i have to do this, does his debt not die with him?) and the log book is in my name. Obviously for sentimental as well as financial and practical reasons, i would love to keep the car. Nx