Deceased estate with no assets but a lot of debts??
Discussion
I’m posting this because I have a good friend whose father recently passed away. He has no assets, he did but he has offloaded them in life. However he has also left a catalogue of debts and evidence of fraud has been discovered (emptying his ex wife’s bank account and taking a credit card in her name after divorce).
His funeral is paid for, but the estate Is a mess. My friend has been named as executor but she wants to renounce this and walk away.
She is concerned that she may have already intermeddled and can’t find any clear guidance on that. But also is struggling to understand if this is something that could come back and bite his relatives or not. It seems almost all advice online regarding probate is when there are assets. But that is irrelevant. Has anyone dealt with anything similar?
His funeral is paid for, but the estate Is a mess. My friend has been named as executor but she wants to renounce this and walk away.
She is concerned that she may have already intermeddled and can’t find any clear guidance on that. But also is struggling to understand if this is something that could come back and bite his relatives or not. It seems almost all advice online regarding probate is when there are assets. But that is irrelevant. Has anyone dealt with anything similar?
ChrisH79 said:
father recently passed away. He has no assets, he did but he has offloaded them in life. However he has also left a catalogue of debts and evidence of fraud.
My friend has been named as executor but she wants to renounce this and walk away.
She is concerned that she may have already intermeddled and can’t find any clear guidance on that.
In what way has she "intermeddled"? To whom does she think she might have taken on any liabilities?My friend has been named as executor but she wants to renounce this and walk away.
She is concerned that she may have already intermeddled and can’t find any clear guidance on that.
If he had no assets why is there a Will? And why is there a nominated executor?
You say "named as executor", but that doesn't mean she "took on the full responsibilities of executor". Nonetheless she may well be on the hook (personally liable) for anything she's actually done - for instance funeral director's bill.
And the idea you can get everybody off the hook by giving stuff away just before you pop your clogs is hogwash. If the relatives "didn't know he had nothing left" then how on earth was he paying his day-to-day bills? If he's left big debts the people who received any cash/assets had better stand ready to get rinsed by his creditors.
Run Forrest run.
And if the estate was big enough for Inheritance tax to be due before he gave it away,HMRC will want their share.(unless it all was given away more than 7 years ago)
If I were her I would take legal advice on refusing executorship and have nothing to do with the estate before doing so.
If I were her I would take legal advice on refusing executorship and have nothing to do with the estate before doing so.
Edited by mac96 on Sunday 4th February 22:16
Panamax said:
In what way has she "intermeddled"? To whom does she think she might have taken on any liabilities?
If he had no assets why is there a Will? And why is there a nominated executor?
You say "named as executor", but that doesn't mean she "took on the full responsibilities of executor". Nonetheless she may well be on the hook (personally liable) for anything she's actually done - for instance funeral director's bill.
And the idea you can get everybody off the hook by giving stuff away just before you pop your clogs is hogwash. If the relatives "didn't know he had nothing left" then how on earth was he paying his day-to-day bills? If he's left big debts the people who received any cash/assets had better stand ready to get rinsed by his creditors.
Run Forrest run.
The definition of intermeddeling is what’s confusing. She’s taken his personal possessions from the home but not disposed of anything and doesn’t want to keep anything. If he had no assets why is there a Will? And why is there a nominated executor?
You say "named as executor", but that doesn't mean she "took on the full responsibilities of executor". Nonetheless she may well be on the hook (personally liable) for anything she's actually done - for instance funeral director's bill.
And the idea you can get everybody off the hook by giving stuff away just before you pop your clogs is hogwash. If the relatives "didn't know he had nothing left" then how on earth was he paying his day-to-day bills? If he's left big debts the people who received any cash/assets had better stand ready to get rinsed by his creditors.
Run Forrest run.
The house he lived in was owned by his ex wife. I believe he did have assets and the will was written before the divorce. Nothing has been changed and she can’t see where the money he had in savings and a lot of the items he owned have gone. It seems he’s been living way beyond his means for a number of years and has managed to keep his children at such a distance that they were completely unaware of his lifestyle.
Panamax said:
In what way has she "intermeddled"? To whom does she think she might have taken on any liabilities?
If he had no assets why is there a Will? And why is there a nominated executor?
You say "named as executor", but that doesn't mean she "took on the full responsibilities of executor". Nonetheless she may well be on the hook (personally liable) for anything she's actually done - for instance funeral director's bill.
And the idea you can get everybody off the hook by giving stuff away just before you pop your clogs is hogwash. If the relatives "didn't know he had nothing left" then how on earth was he paying his day-to-day bills? If he's left big debts the people who received any cash/assets had better stand ready to get rinsed by his creditors.
Run Forrest run.
The definition of intermeddeling is what’s confusing. She’s taken his personal possessions from the home but not disposed of anything and doesn’t want to keep anything. If he had no assets why is there a Will? And why is there a nominated executor?
You say "named as executor", but that doesn't mean she "took on the full responsibilities of executor". Nonetheless she may well be on the hook (personally liable) for anything she's actually done - for instance funeral director's bill.
And the idea you can get everybody off the hook by giving stuff away just before you pop your clogs is hogwash. If the relatives "didn't know he had nothing left" then how on earth was he paying his day-to-day bills? If he's left big debts the people who received any cash/assets had better stand ready to get rinsed by his creditors.
Run Forrest run.
The house he lived in was owned by his ex wife. I believe he did have assets and the will was written before the divorce. Nothing has been changed and she can’t see where the money he had in savings and a lot of the items he owned have gone. It seems he’s been living way beyond his means for a number of years and has managed to keep his children at such a distance that they were completely unaware of his lifestyle.
ChrisH79 said:
She’s taken his personal possessions from the home.
Why? And what did the Will say about his personal possessions, if anyone's found it/read it/in touch with a solicitor about it.In any event, it doesn't sound anything like intermeddling to me, which would be actually taking steps towards administration of the estate. Sounds like she moved her dad's stuff for safe keeping in case burglars spotted the empty property and can say the action was nothing to do with his Will/estate as such.
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