Dealiing with an insolvent estate

[taximan45]

Hi,

I lost my Father recently and am named as sole executor on his will. He owned no property and has very few assets that can be liquidated, and no insurance policy/pension other than a funeral plan that will thankfully cover the cost of that.

Basically after the funeral is paid off there will be very little left, well under £1000 at a rough guess.

I'm in the process of writing to his various creditors, the worst of which is a credit card with about £6000 outstanding. Clearly there will not be anywhere near enough to pay off everything he owed.

My question is what kind of proof are the creditors likely to ask for that ther is no money, are they entitled to see bank historical bank statements or suchlike?

I realise this should probably be handled by a solicitor but I don't have that kind of money and neither does the estate.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[cerberusalert]

All you need to do is provide them with a letter telling them that your father has died leaving no Estate & no assets, include a photocopy of the Death Certificate, you do not have to provide any further evidence.If they want to investigate ie land registry search, probate search etc that's down to them and at their expense.

 

You are not personally responsible for any debts.

[taximan45]

Thanks. Had a reply from his biggest creditor (RBS credit card) today. They have asked me to fill in and return an asset/liability sheet and return it with evidence. They also hint that I will keep receiving monthly statements until the debt is settled. Can they ask for this, and am I obliged to provide them with anything like this? The sheet is asking for things like funeral costs, solicitors fees, tax position as well as bank/other credit details.

Conversely two of his other card companies (Barclaycard and Santander) have written back and written off the balances without even being asked. Both balances were relatively low but in fairness to them they didn't even try to reclaim anything.

[cerberusalert]

Just fill it in stating that there were no assets & put down his other debts as liablities.

 

Funeral costs, solicitors fees & tax have nothing to do with them as they are classed as priority debts paid from the estate.

 

If they get shirty tell them that you will charge them £18 per hour + the costs of providing copies of any statements etc.

[taximan45]

Thanks mate, going through it all now. Obviously they aren't going to take my first answer, so do I have any legal responsibility to supply them with bank statements etc if they start demanding them, or can I literally tell them to swing for it?

[cerberusalert]

You do not have to provide them with anything other than a statement that your father left no assets. If they want to check they will have to pay for the privilege of doing a landsearch and retrieving a copy of the will from the probate office etc.