Halifax taking us to court for deceased father's mortgage

[jill3006]

My husband and I are executors of my father's estate. He died 2 yearas ago and his apartment has been on the market for 18 months and is still unsold. Halifax were sent all the documentation after his death and have repeatedly sent us letters demanding interest which they have accumulated be paid. They have not responded to any of the correspondence returned by us and have now sent a court order to each of us personally regarding their intention to reclaim the property, and we must attend court. The form also request details of our own property where we live.

We are quite happy for the bank to have the flat as there will be nothing to come to us after everything has been paid off - my father having to remortgage to pay for three years residential full care for my mother as she was dying slowly of MND.

Our main concern is that rather than be addressed to the executors the courts papers are addressed to each of us personally so does this affect our financial standing/ credit record which has always been excellent? It is also causing a lot of personal distress.

Thanks for reading this and I hope someone can help.

[citizenB]

I will try and find someone who can help.

 

I am not sure why they would want details of your property, I am assuming there is no financial connection between you and your late father so you are not responsible for his debts !

 

Can you give us some more information regarding the claim - is the court date imminent ?

[unclebulgaria67]

You really must seek proper legal advice from a Solicitor about this. As executors you are legally responsible for the deceaseds estate and there is potential liability against you, hence them asking for details of your own property.

 

Without much more info, I don't think anyone online will be able to provide you with the legal advice you need.

[Lea_HTH]

As the above poster states, as executors you are responsible for ensuring the proper administration of the estate. However, the mortgagee also has responsibility to act quickly - and 18 months of accruing debt doesn't seem like acting quickly to me.

 

I would strongly suggest that you seek the advice of a solicitor, since there will be an abundance of paperwork to go through, background details as to the length of time the mortgagee has taken to act, as well as perhaps some investigation into why a further advance was given...if your father was a pensioner, or would have been a pensioner at the time the mortgage was due to end, then the loan itself may have been missold (far more complicated to prove).

 

You need a solicitor.

[jill3006]

thanks everyone, we are seeing our solicitor this morning. The estate has a solicitor whom we appointed as soon as we realised there was a lifetime mortgage (my father had however paid interest up to his death) and that things were going to more complicated then we thought. The solicitor has been dealing with everything and has worked hard but he got no response from Halifax either and as the court papers arrived Saturday I was anxious with no-one to refer to till today. Sorry to waste your time!

[citizenB]

You are not wasting our time at all - sadly this appears to be quite serious and outside of the help/advice that CAG can provide

[marylikes]

They have not responded to any of the correspondence returned by us and have now sent a court order to each of us personally regarding their intention to reclaim the property, and we must attend court........

We are quite happy for the bank to have the flat as there will be nothing to come to us after everything has been paid off

 

Contact them and let them know its vacant, and give them the keys. I was in a similar situation, they where fine over it. Can't see any point in getting a Solicitor when you are happy to turn it over to them and thats what they are taking you to court for.

[unclebulgaria67]

Contact them and let them know its vacant, and give them the keys. I was in a similar situation, they where fine over it. Can't see any point in getting a Solicitor when you are happy to turn it over to them and thats what they are taking you to court for.

 

They already have a Solicitor. As executors they could be responsible for the decisions they make. What if there is a shortfall, because the mortgage is not covered by a reduced sale price ? Halifax will incur various costs in selling the house, which will be added to the shortfall. We don't know what any will says and if there are interests of any beneficiaries to be protected, then as executors they have a legal responsibility to do things properly.

 

In the OP's position they don't have any choice but to speak to the Solicitor that is already helping them with this.

[AndyOrch]

Hi jill

 

Im not sure what paperwork you have received from court or in what capacity it is asking details of your own property but as executors you are not liable for your fathers mortgage...only the administration of your of your late fathers estate.

 

Did your father not have any life cover or insurance connected to this debt?

 

The following thread may be of assistance :-

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?159382-mortgage-interest-after-death-HELP

 

http://news.sky.com/story/838113/halifax-to-pay-500m-to-mortgage-customers

 

Regards

Andy