Finance on sofa problems

[supakid]

hi, just wondering if someone could help, my father passed away last month... and we are getting Hitachi capital letters as my dad purchased a sofa on finance for over £1000 which is still owed and they are saying that they are forwarding this to the 'estate' which i am guessing is us... can they do this? what are our options.. just want to get these things sorted and me and my mother are very stressed as it is..

 

 

thank you

[MrShed]

Are you asking if they can attempt to claim money from your late fathers estate as a creditor?

[supakid]

i can type the letter out if that help's only take a few mins and to the admin my computer crashed and it made 3 duplicates ...

 

thank you for your reply

[supakid]

some simpathy quotes then...

 

i can confirm that the above agreement relates to a purchase through DFS, i have enclosed for your records a copy of the signed agreement...

 

As ********* held the above with hitachi capital, we wish to enter out claim of ******** to the estate. i can confirm that this is an interest free settlement figure and will remain the same until such a time that this can be settled. i would there for be grateful if you could confirm in writing if there is sufficient funds in the estate to settle this.

[supakid]

hi could anyone give me any more help on this please

[MrShed]

Well as I said, is the question as above?

 

If so, then yes a creditor is entitled to make a claim on money owed from the estate of the deceased.

[supakid]

but my dad left nothing money wise to cover this.....i typed out the letter above so i don't understand anything about this which is why i'm here so the question that was asked i can't answer so i typed out the letter.

[MrShed]

Have there been assets left? The value of the estate does not just constitute cash.

[johnhowell]

When someone dies, debtors can claim off the estate of the deceased. You, as family, are dealing with your fathers estate - in essence you are the executor of the estate. It is the executors responsibility to handle all debts and monies owing to the estate. If there was money in the estate then the debt would have to be paid. Was the credit agreement only in your dads name or joint with mum as well? Lets assume from the postings above that it was only in your dads name, then:

 

Write back to them, as they ask, stating that there is insufficient funds in the estate to satisfy the outstanding finance. We did this when my step father died, nearly all of them went away. The only outstanding debt was to a local department store that he owed £350 for shirts - as it was a local family store my mum wanted to pay this.

 

Good luck

John

[supakid]

thank you so much for your reply it was just in my dad's name and he left no money behind nothing apart from the house which is my mum and dads name..

[supakid]

once we explain there is no money do they go away or do they require proof or will it be taken forward to debt collections or anything?

[johnhowell]

As I said before, if there is no money in the estate they will go away. With my step father - one company did call but when we sid he only had £250 in the bank they went away. The difference here is my step father did not part own the property - it was my mums only.

 

However, as MrShed said above, there is value in the estate - half the value of the house at the time of death. It could be argued that the finance company have a valid claim on this part of the estate.

 

John

[supakid]

right i guess i will write to them and see what they say thank's for your help

[MrShed]

However, as MrShed said above, there is value in the estate - half the value of the house at the time of death. It could be argued that the finance company have a valid claim on this part of the estate.

 

Successfully I would have thought.

[supakid]

does it matter if the house is still on a mortgage?

[buzby]

Yes, but the term 'estate' actually means the person responsible for winding up his estate. As a debt, they're staking their claim to the residual funds to be paid, after Funeral bills, HM Taxes, and the Executors take their cut. After this, any remaining money is then paid to those with legitimate debts, and any residuals is then paid as part of the final disbursement of the estate (legacy's etc).

 

In your situation, I'd send them the bill back, saying they need to send it to the Executor (assuming this is not yourself), and provide the address.

 

Sorry for your loss, BTW.

[dx100uk]

yes bestway

 

pers i'd send it to the solicitor dealing with you fathers death,

 

thats what i di and still do for any letters i get regading my fathers debt, three years after the event

 

they were paid to deal with it...their problem!!

 

dx