Bit of an odd one - Halifax

[RedVixen]

Hi

 

The story so far.

 

My Mother died in April 2008 we realised that we wouldn't be able to sell the house quickly so I moved into it and have been here ever since. My younger brother took over the mantle of dealing with stuff (and basically hasn't) Regarding the house he is supposed to have a applied for probate weeks ago and once that is granted we can put it on the market. However we got a letter form a solicitor yesterday - they sent a copy directly to me as they are clearly trying to find out if I know what is going on. The letter basically says that there has been no application for a grant probate and they want permission to name one of us as a personal representative so they can issue repossession proceedings the arrears are about 4.5K now.

 

He is insisting he sent the forms off however I don't beleive him as he is also saying so what if they reposess at least it will all be over with - yes and the house will be auctioned at a bout 50% of its value. He wants it to be repossessed now as he can't be bothered to deal with it - I am planning going into the probate office today with a copy of the death certificate and her will if I can find it plus my ID to try and find out what is going on and I am really hoping that he hasn't done the forms so I can take over now. I was stupid to let him take this on as I know what he is like. I am not sure if I can delay the proceedings so a couple of questions

 

How long on average does it take for these things to get to court?

 

If I manage to get the arrears from somewhere (don't know where yet)will that stop it?

 

If I manage to maintain my hours doing temp work I can just about manage to start covering the repayments on it the morgage settlement is £30K the house is worth just under £100K - it will be like being on the dole again but I have spent most of the last year on that sort of budget

 

I think with the account number which I can get even if he has sent the forms in I can still make payments without his consent?

 

The house will be sold as soon as probate is granted as I don't want to live here long term and couldn't afford to buy him out thanks to a crap credit rating, but the idiot thinks £5K now is better than more in the future and can't be arsed to wait - i am not going to walk away from thousands of pounds because he is a Piers Morgan. Interestingly he has sorted himself out a flat for what he thinks is short term and will hopefully be moving there soon so I can sort out the house and make it fit to sell

[mercyblue]

Your not entirely clear, you mention a will, well if there is a will there is no need for probate.

If there isn't a will you will need to fill out the probate form (£90) which takes about 20 mins and send that off and wait for an appointment from the probate office - which you will BOTH need to attend. After that you will have to wait for a letter of administration (about 4 weeks I think) which will name you both before you can do anything.

[RedVixen]

Interesting - the mortgage company told us Probate would have to be granted before we could sell the house as part of the estate - I will look into that - thankyou

 

There is a Will but the original has gone 'missing' I only have a photocopy. I do however now know that no other Will has been registered with the probate service

[RedVixen]

Have checked with the probate service and because there is property and no surviving partner or joint owner we do need to obtain probate before we can sell it

[jansus]

I agree try and save the property because as you say the property will probably be sold under value - plus you wil have no control over the costs involved.

 

Yes if you cleared the arrears that would stop the possession order.As to how long it would take to get to court that depends really on how many months payments are included in the arrears figure - its not the amount more how many payments have been missed.

 

I think you are doing all the right things.

 

Was there no life assurance policy at all?

[RedVixen]

Hi Jansus no there was no life insurance policy she bought the house after she had initially recovered form Breast Cancer so deemed it wasn't worth it. As one of the causes of death was listed ans breast cancer mtastasis it would not have paid up.

 

The other thing idiot brother hasn't thought of is that she had outstanding debts so if the house is reposessed we will be liable as we won't have acted in a way that maximised the value of the estate. As it stands if we hold onto it and sell it for what its worth we havea far stroger ground for challenging the debts most of which we were told would die with her - none are secured on the house despite her medical history and the fact she ended up in a DMP

 

There is no registered application for a grant of probate so that is why the original will has allegedly gone missing. I have spoken to the solicitor who dealt with the will and also moms divorce and she is going to ask if they will accept a certified copy since she signed it herself

[jansus]

I am sorry to hear of the situation you find yourself in as I am sure the death of your mother must have been enough to deal with. I am Just suprisedif the Halifax had not discussed some kind of protection when the mortgage was taken out - but nowadays it is personal choice as to whether cover is taken out.

 

I am not familiar with the probate and will situation but have read lots of threads on here about the affects of charges and the selling of possession properties at auction and you are quite right in your assumptions. Even the fact that the house is empty( if they gained possession) would immediately affect the value.

 

I would have thought that as long as the solicitor certifies the copy the Halifax should accept that .

 

Are you able to pay the existing MP,even if nothing towards the arrears and then claim back from the estate at a later date?

[RedVixen]

The house isn't empty - we realised that it would take ages to sell so I moved into it as I was living in a real **** hole before. The my brothers relationship broke down so he moved in as well. Best I don't start on that one LOL. It isn't Halifax that is the issue (apart form repossession) its the probate office although the first person I spoke to there said it could be done on a copy (second guy was adamant it had to be an original) but was complicated(which I am hoping means it just needs to be certified)

 

She died over a year ago - I have been telling my brother since we both started work that we should start covering the repayments but he is so crap with money it hasn't happened, he earns more than me yet I am paying all the expenses and he claims to not have any money a couple of days after he has been paid.

 

I am just making progress with my own debts (see the PPI thread) I do not want to be effectively back to square one with my mothers debts because he thinks he has spotted an easy solution - hopefully he will move out into a flat in the next couple of week and then I can really let rip and tell him whats what.

 

In the meantime I will be swallowing my pride and explaining everything to my godmother and anyone else who may have cash to help clear the arrears until its sold

[jansus]

No I realise the house is not empty - but if they gain possession it would be.

 

Do you know if the Halifax are charging you just for being arrears ? that seems to be the norm at the moment - so if you can clear the arrears that would might save that money as well.

 

Like you say in the long run it makes sense to maintain payments if at all possible as in the long run it gives you control over the situation aand the time to make the best decisions without all the added pressure of court hearings.

[RedVixen]

As far as I know they haven't added any charges due to the circumstance but understandably since they were told last year that the house would be put on the market they are getting a bit twitchy. I am kicking myself I know what my brother is like buit still allowed him to carry on this pretense of being the grownup (hang up from childhood) so now I am just hoping to be be able to save it and then take over everything else - the thing is he really thinks that if the house is repossessed and auctioned for half its value the other creditors won't claim which is what he has been saying he doesn't want to be bothered with even though he knows I have successes with that sort of thing already he can't stand the thought of me being successful AGAIN where he has failed in similar circumstances - precious ego its pathetic

 

The solicitor I spoke to today will put him right on that

[dx100uk]

just to give you a bit of faith

i help a work collegue last year in almost the exact situation.

 

sol for mortgage co. was pressuring them to sell immediately as no probate existed.

family lawyer had lost the original will of 7yrs back, only had a photocopy, both offspring mentioned in the will had died in the 7yr period , will was never updated.

 

grandson [work collegue] applied for peobate with the photocopy after it was certified by family solicitor.

from first application it took just under a month and everyone is now happy. he like you started paying the arrears & latterly the mortgage by just using the online banking system with the correct A/C & sort code.

 

it only has £12k to run, and is now paid off.

 

HTH

 

dx

[RedVixen]

Ta Dx - it does give me hope - like CAG so often has done over the last couple of year - these new situations no longer leave me sleepless.

 

The actual outcome is never as bad as you imagine even if the worst does happen.

 

I will look into starting the repayments as soon as possible on my own (problem is my current temp job ends on Sat but the agency will do the most she can to get me into more work as I was a very good girl LOL) if necessary as the probate application has my name first I believe I will technically get the grant - part of the estate is over £2K worth of collectible teddybears which will cover half of the arrears if I can sell them (I am actively looking into that right now) - we have taken out the ones we want

[dx100uk]

aw poor teddies!

 

dx

[RedVixen]

But then if the agency does get me work for the next moth I will put my working tax credit app in and backdated that will give me a nice lump sum to pay towards it - the actual mortgage repayments are not that high really

[dx100uk]

i can see it now

 

news of the world front page

 

teddies get evicted by money grabbing relatives of dead owner.....

 

dx

[RedVixen]

LOL they will be rehomed in a condiderate manner but neither of us want so many - thats the thing with bereavement many people end up hanging onto stuff just because - I have taken all the jewellry that has sentimental value including my grandmothers and will sell the rest

 

I think even if it goes to court since we also lost out father 6 weeks afterwards so really had a hard 12 months will go in our favour - it takes a while to get back on track after that

[RedVixen]

LOL again DX I also have her black and white cat to rehome - i have cats of my own and in 12 months he just hasn't settled so he needs to go somewhere he will be happy - I am truely am a cruel cruel person

[RedVixen]

And I am not at all swayed by the unprovoked attacks he keeps making on my head - oh no siree

[RedVixen]

I tried with him but it hasn't worked - another classic brother one, he keeps insisting he shouldn't be rehomed yet but has no intention of taking him on and I have been paying for the all the animals for 12 months now

Edited July 30, 2009 by RedVixen
spelling

[dx100uk]

hehe

 

i went through that me mum died 3yrs ago after 5yrs of being bed ridden & 86yrs old father looking after her, he always said after 57yrs of marriage he'd go in the first year after she died. bugger he did!

 

makes you stronger though...once you've got through it, everything else life throws at you is a minute itch after that!

 

CHIN UP

 

DX

[RedVixen]

well abit of an update

 

magically the original will was still in brothers room although he still insists he sent the forms off originally

 

The box I pulled it out of had been in the middle of his room for a week before I went in and had a poke about myself - so probate applied for and like dx said it was sorted within a month after that. Although by that time the sol had applied to the courts to have us both named as executors for the purpose of repossession.

 

He has been insisting that I don't deal with this and he claims I am too aggressive with banks and anyone form the debt collection industry (ie I have backbone and know what they can and can't do and he has victim tattooed on his forehead in special only DCAs can see ink)

 

The last letter form the solicitor gave us until the end of the week to pay all of the arrears or to get them to within 2 month or they will start proceedings and if we offered a reduced payment plan they would do something that sounded like provided we kept up with the agreement they would leave it but as soon as we slipped up they would basically get automatic possession

 

Anyway despite brothers insistence that he would deal with it I basically ignored it and rang the solicitor yesterday asking for a 1 month stay of execution. Have to say she was great. I am on a temporary contract which ends in four week, hence asking for the month I don't know what I am doing next month, this was agreed to provided we made this months payment which we can. And they don't mind the money going in weekly.

 

I have also organised a valuation with a local but small estate agents (I felt that each sale would be more important to them) the place is pig sty at the moment but the decor and all the important bits (kitchen and bathroom) are in good condition and relatively new

 

By then the house should be on the market, I hopefully should have had a cheque from Lloyds regarding my PPI claim (there should still be at least a grand left over after they have taken the debts off) I should also have had wroking tax credits through so even if I am not working I should be safe until xmas

 

fingers crossed I have managed to sort this and hopefully by xmas as it will have been on the market for a while they will be reluctant to take it on as I think their chances of getting repo are less if a house is actively being marketed for sale especially since it is the subject of a deceased's estate

[RedVixen]

So at least for the next three weeks I can sleep a little easier

[RedVixen]

Forgot to mention - there may now be a life insurance policy - another odd one. I found the certificate last year its an AMP policy so contacted the company that now deals with AMP accounts in the UK. They said they didn't deal with life insurance policies but did a search and couldn't find my mother and offered no other advice so we assumed maybe she had sold it or something

 

fast forward 12 months and an acquaintance of mine asked about life insurance as this has all been rather stressful so I told him about the AMP policy - turns out he used to work for AMP and told me who had got all the insurance policies (not the people I spoke to last year but you would think they would know that information)

 

So spoke to Pearl who wouldn't confirm what was on their system, only that my mother was on there - so death certificate has been sent off so we are waiting to see if it still exists and did she sell it off to pay for the bathroom which is a possibility

[RedVixen]

Update

 

I have made 4 weekly payments since the last one but with no further warning they have issued a claim at court

 

I received the papers today after getting home form arranging a BACS transfer that will wipe all of the arrears plus next months payment which should hit the account on Tuesday next week

 

They have issued papers to myself and my brother separately but he is such a Piers Morgan he will probably bugger it up completely

 

I suppose I should contact the solicitor but I really dont think I could hold my temper today. They sent a letter addressed to 'the tenant' when they know damn well there is no tennant basically warning any fictional tennant that the property is at risk

[RedVixen]

OK just called the solicitor - provided the transfer clears which it should comfortably the case will be closed and court cancelled