Deceased father debt

[Smithy14]

Looking for information/help ...... My father sadly passed away in March of this year leaving about £17,000 worth of debt and with little estate to cover this amount . I have contacted all the companies which he owed debt to for some sort of settlement agreement however to date none have come forward. As you can imagine this has been a very distressing time for all and we just want to put some sort of closure to episode in our lives. I would be grateful for any advice you wonderful people can provide to get a response from the companies so we can plan a way to pay off the debt from the little estate he has .....

 

Thanks

 

R

[honeybee13]

I'm sorry to hear about your father and am sure that we can help.

 

Could I just ask if the debts were in his sole name please?

 

HB

[Smithy14]

Yes all the debt was in his sole name as he lived alone and divorced from our mum 

[AndyOrch]

" I have contacted all the companies which he owed debt to for some sort of settlement agreement "

 

Why ?  are the debts all unsecured borrowings ?

 

Andy

[Smithy14]

13 minutes ago, Andyorch said:

" I have contacted all the companies which he owed debt to for some sort of settlement agreement "

 

Why ?  are the debts all unsecured borrowings ?

 

Andy

Hi Andy ,

 

" Why" - The estate worth is less than what is owed and I thought if we could get them to accept a reduced settlement as I believe the debt doesn't automatically dies when the person dies ?

 

We also have a small flat which isn't in a condition to sell doesn't even have a place to wash apart from a small kitchen sink and I don't have the funds to bring it up to a point where I can sell it 

 

I believe the debt is unsecured as its various credit cards etc ..... 

 

Thanks

[AndyOrch]

Then they should be ranked at the very bottom of the list...after all expenses have been paid and priority debts cleared...if nothing left there nothing left...they get nothing.

 

Simply send them all a copy of the Death Certificate and inform them their is no money in the estate.

 

Sincere condolences 

 

Andy

[Smithy14]

Thanks Andy .....

 

The issue we have they won't respond to our letters sent from my lawyer and as you can imagine with limit funds we would like to try and resolve the matter ourselves - lawyers fees are mounting !!!!

 

Can we legally send another letter recorded delivery or something giving them say 28 days to respond after which time the debt would be enforceable ??

 

Thanks 

[AndyOrch]

You dont want them to respond...you shouldn't have offered a settlement in the first instance.

 

Once you have informed them of the death and informed them that the estate is insolvent...thats the end of your responsibility and liability.,not that you have any anyway.

 

PS Why are you using a Lawyer...are you not the executor ?

[Smithy14]

My father didn't have a will so we had to use a lawyer to get executor status and at this point the lawyer wrote to all parties owed money explained there was little to no money in the estate but none have replied. I haven't offered any type of settlement as yet but just wanted to see if we can settle or even write off the debt as maybe in the future we could do something with the flat although I would imagine this to be few years away 

[AndyOrch]

So your father died intestate...there is no need to appoint a lawyer to attain executor status all that was required was  grant of letters of administration which then allows you the ‘administrator’ of the estate and allows you to value the estate, pay any debts and distribute the estate according to the intestacy rules.

 

Because of the property involved you would then have to apply for probate...again which is quite simple and something you can do yourself.

 

Back to the unsecured debts...as per my post # 8