Finance after bereavement.

[conchy_joe]

About eighteen months ago my brother was admitted to a care home suffering from Parkinsons and dementia after it was deemed that he no longer had capacity.

 

I was made an appointee by the council for the purpose of handling certain financial affairs of his...rent and council tax etc.

Last week I was informed that my brother had passed away.

 

Shortly after I received a phone call from a person in the council who explained that his doctor would have to issue a death certificate which I would then have to take to a registrars office to have his death officially recorded.

 

All of the above is fairly straightforward,

however I am my brother's only surviving relative,

he was divorced over twenty years ago

 

during the months leading up to his being admitted to the care home I took care of his credit card

( this was never in my possession it was always kept by him),

 

each time I visited him I would do his shopping and buy whatever else he needed and pay for his dog's veterinary bills.

After all the vets bills had been settled and his card had a zero balance I phoned the credit company and had the card suspended.

I have since destroyed the card.

 

My brother also had a ( current ) bank account with a little over £11,000.

I had his debit card which I would use whenever he would ask me to take money out for him so that he had money to pay the gardener, the chiropodist or get his hair cut...little things like that.

 

The only other time his card was used was when I took money out when he was in the care home,

this was £700 paid into the care home's bank account to cover toiletries which they would buy for him, and also again hair cuts and chiropodist...pocket money.

 

For the first seven months that he was at the home I would take out £100 each month,

deposit it into my account

and then transfer it into the care home's account,

 

I have all the ATM receipts and bank records as proof.

I withdrew no more after that as he was hardly using any cash.

 

The problem that I now have is that my brother's body has been taken to the local hospital

on Monday I will pick up the death certificate,

go to the registrar's office and register his death.

 

After that I will need to organize his funeral which I cannot afford,

also the funeral director that transported my brother from the care home to the hospital will have to be paid.

 

Now, I could pay with my brother's debit card as we both have the same surname and first initial,

this would not pose a problem

and as it is for my brother would not seem to be morally wrong,

but what about the legality of it all.

 

Also what of the balance of his account after the funeral.

Some months before my brother went into the car home he asked me if I would take Power of Attorney,

I refused,

perhaps I was selfish

but I felt awkward about it.

 

Anyway that's history.

 

The thing is, my brother's body is at the hospital,

the funeral director needs to be paid and funeral arrangements have to be made.

 

My gut instinct is to settle all of the above with his debit card but really I'm just winging it.

 

Can anyone help me please.

[dx100uk]

the bank will deal with things for him/you.

like paying the funeral directors etc

just send them the bills direct

the funeral director knows the game and how it works

 

sorry for you loss

 

dx

[sgtbush]

Advice as above.

Sorry for your loss.

As stated the funeral directors know what to do.

Try not to stress too much.

[sgtbush]

This site has some good advice

 

https://bereavementadvice.org/topics/the-funeral/paying-for-a-funeral

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I've seen this twice before. Speak to the bank, but in my experience if you take a quote or a bill from the undertakers to the bank, they will issue a cheque made out to the undertakers or possibly pay them direct. Nothing to worry about.

 

HB

[Ethel Street]

The big banks all have a special bereavement team that you can contact and explain the situation to them

- look on their website for it.

 

Hopefully they will put your mind at rest about the funeral costs.

They might need you to bring in the death certificate and proof of your ID before they will discuss with you in detail.

 

I've arranged 2 funerals in last 18 months and in both cases the banks had a standard procedure.

The funeral director sent the invoice to me after the funeral.

I sent the invoice to the bank and they paid it direct to the funeral director.

I believe most (all) banks work in a similar way.

 

I'm assuming from the figures you gave that there is enough money in the bank account to cover the funeral costs

- say £4,000 but you should be able to do it for less than that, depends on the 'extras' you want.

Explain to the funeral director how it will be paid for at the time you arrange the funeral.

 

Your situation comes up all the time, they understand what needs to be done with the bank.

 

Be aware though that as soon as you tell the bank bereavement centre that your brother has died they will cancel his bank card and freeze the funds (other than paying the funeral director)

 

Power of Attorney is, as you say, history, but actually it wouldn't have helped you anyway as PoA ceases as soon the person dies.

 

More importantly did your brother leave a Will?

If so who is named as Executor?

[conchy_joe]

I would like to clarify one important point regarding this matter.

 

After the funeral arrangements have been completed

 

I will contact the Court of Protection and inform them of the situation,

 

hopefully they will be able to decide what is to be done with the balance of my brother's account.

 

I have no intention of touching the remaining balance.

[conchy_joe]

Thank you all for your advice. I'll phone the bank on Monday morning before I drive down, my brother did not leave a will so can I assume that they will advise me on a course of action.

[honeybee13]

If your brother has died without leaving a will, then it's dealt with under the intestacy rules. The CAB have some good information on how to deal with an estate.

 

https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/if-the-person-didnt-leave-a-will

 

And if you haven't seen it already, this is what the Court of Protection says.

 

https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy/end-your-deputyship

 

HB

[conchy_joe]

I've been on a bank website regarding them handling the estate and note that they say there could be charges.

 

Obviously they are not a charitable institution, but I have a distrust of banks after the Late Charges fiasco, PPI, mis-sold loans and Libor and wondered if the court might be a better option.

 

The government website said it could take up to nine months,

would the bank be speedier and surely for what is to them a relatively small amount how much would they charge on a sum that after funeral costs is well below £11,000.

 

I would just like this whole business finalised ASAP, the money side makes it all seem so sordid.

[honeybee13]

You don't need a bank or a solicitor to deal with an estate, you can do it yourself if you're going to administer the estate. I dealt with my mother's and it went through pretty quickly.

 

There are exemptions from probate for some smaller estates but I can't remember what the limit is.

 

HB

[Mr.P]

There shouldn't be anything more than a nominal charge (if any) for settling the funeral bills. If the bank or a solicitor were to apply for probate and administer the estate, fees could well be extortionate.

 

Even without a will, doing probate yourself isn't particularly difficult for most simple estates. If the sums involved are relatively small, it may be the case that the banks will release funds without letters of representation (although, as the estate is subject to intestacy rules, probate may well be required).

[Ethel Street]

The charges on bank website are if the bank is appointed as Executor/Administrator to your brother's estate, not for paying the funeral director. There shouldn't be any charge for paying the funeral director, other than maybe the banks standard charge for making bank transfers for which they charge something nominal, in the £15 - £25 range.

 

You can administer your bother's estate yourself, see the links earlier for advice on how to do this. Waste of money to let a bank or solicitor to do this as your brother's estate couldn't be simpler. It's a small amount of cash in his bank account, nothing else by the sound of it.

 

Look at the first link in post#9 on who inherits if someone dies without a Will. From what you've said if you are the only surviving sibling, and assuming your brother had no children, then you are likely to inherit all the money left in his bank account after funeral expenses have been paid.

[conchy_joe]

Thank you for your advice.

 

Last October the council suggested that I apply to become a deputy,

they said it would cost £400 and take around four months.

 

They sent me a huge amount of paperwork to be completed and I decided against it...my mistake.

 

I think that before I drive down tomorrow I'll phone the bereavement advice line ( HMRC ) and get a take on what they say.

 

The main thing to do tomorrow is to drive to the care home and pick up my brother's belongings,

drive to the GP's office to pick up the death certificate,

register it at the registrars office and then sort out the funeral.

A three hundred mile round trip.

 

On the way there I pass Broadmoor...

|I might be tempted to check myself in !.

 

all been great, not just for the advice but the knowledge that there are people who are willing to help out.

[Ethel Street]

 

Last October the council suggested that I apply to become a deputy,

they said it would cost £400 and take around four months.

 

They sent me a huge amount of paperwork to be completed and I decided against it...my mistake.

 

 

Don't think of it as a mistake because a Deputyship automatically ends at the moment the person whose affairs you are managing dies (as does a Power of Attorney). So even if you had applied for the Deputyship you wouldn't have been able to use it manage your brother's affairs after he died or to pay for the funeral.

 

Talking to HMRC sounds like the right thing to do, find out what you need to do to be appointed as the Administrator of your brother's Estate (Administrator is the equivalent of an Executor when the deceased did not leave a Will)

 

 

drive to the GP's office to pick up the death certificate,

register it at the registrars office

 

 

A minor point, but the GP doesn't issue the Death Certificate. The GP gives you a medical causes of death certificate which you take to the Registrar. The Registrar then registers the death and gives you the Death Certificate. It's the Registrar's Death Certificate you will need to show the bank etc. Get several copies of it.