Credit Card Debt on Death
Discussion
Hello,
Random one, but extended family member passed with some pretty hefty credit card debt, that partner didn't know about.
Partner is finding out about now, and doesn't want to pay it, as feels (understandably) that not their debt to pay.
Solicitor says needs to be paid, and if it's ignored, they will come after surviving partner on distribution of the estate.
Impact of paying means some real difficulty for the surviving partner. Has anyone ever had experience of that, guessing it does need to be paid.
Thanks in advance.
Random one, but extended family member passed with some pretty hefty credit card debt, that partner didn't know about.
Partner is finding out about now, and doesn't want to pay it, as feels (understandably) that not their debt to pay.
Solicitor says needs to be paid, and if it's ignored, they will come after surviving partner on distribution of the estate.
Impact of paying means some real difficulty for the surviving partner. Has anyone ever had experience of that, guessing it does need to be paid.
Thanks in advance.
As Blue above states
OP, to be clear this is not a creditor chasing a third party(a beneficiary or spouse). This is a creditor claiming the outstanding debt(of the deceased) against the deceased estate. The executor has a legal obligation to settle all debts before making any distributions to beneficiaries.
If the credit card balance is valid-worth checking. The bank may well negotiate re accrued interest post death.
OP, to be clear this is not a creditor chasing a third party(a beneficiary or spouse). This is a creditor claiming the outstanding debt(of the deceased) against the deceased estate. The executor has a legal obligation to settle all debts before making any distributions to beneficiaries.
If the credit card balance is valid-worth checking. The bank may well negotiate re accrued interest post death.
They died with no will.
The administrator, will of course be the surviving partner. They are looking at selling the house if need to pay, or cashing in pension to pay.
They are completely in disbelief that this could happen, knew nothing about it. Seems deceased had some kind of gambling addiction.
The administrator, will of course be the surviving partner. They are looking at selling the house if need to pay, or cashing in pension to pay.
They are completely in disbelief that this could happen, knew nothing about it. Seems deceased had some kind of gambling addiction.
My stepfather passed some years ago, credit card company bombarded my mum with threats as to paying the debt, it was around £8k I recall, all on betting at the local bookies. He left nothing in his estate, the card was in his name only, transactions all on betting. All letters addressed to him even after I supplied copies of the death certificate to them, I was visiting mum a while later when her phone rang and it was the debt collection dept of the CC company again stating mum needed to pay the debt. I asked if her name was on the card or a joint card, answer no, had any letters been sent to my mum in her name stating the outstanding debt, answer again no all letters sent in my SF name up to a year after they had seen proof that he wasn't alive anymore. Asked them not to call again, got a final letter addressed to the SF stating debt was written off. This guy was nearly 80 years old and had never paid anything back over 3 years, I did manage to find a letter from them that increased his limit to £7k despite never having had a payment from him over the previous use of the card. He played them for 3 plus years and died owing the money, they just went after the weakest link in this case my mum.
the_g_ster said:
Hello,
Random one, but extended family member passed with some pretty hefty credit card debt, that partner didn't know about.
Partner is finding out about now, and doesn't want to pay it, as feels (understandably) that not their debt to pay.
Solicitor says needs to be paid, and if it's ignored, they will come after surviving partner on distribution of the estate.
Impact of paying means some real difficulty for the surviving partner. Has anyone ever had experience of that, guessing it does need to be paid.
Thanks in advance.
Apologieas if I've missed something - the partner wouldn't be paying it, it would be the estate of the deceased.Random one, but extended family member passed with some pretty hefty credit card debt, that partner didn't know about.
Partner is finding out about now, and doesn't want to pay it, as feels (understandably) that not their debt to pay.
Solicitor says needs to be paid, and if it's ignored, they will come after surviving partner on distribution of the estate.
Impact of paying means some real difficulty for the surviving partner. Has anyone ever had experience of that, guessing it does need to be paid.
Thanks in advance.
the_g_ster said:
@Countdown, yes, my bad english. But she had no savings, so possible that will need to sell their family house to pay the debts. Hence partner is wondering about cashing in pension in order to save having to sell the house.
Doubt they could force her to sell her share of the house or her pension..it's was his debt not hers....get her to have a free 30 mins chat with a solicitor.the_g_ster said:
They died with no will.
The administrator, will of course be the surviving partner. They are looking at selling the house if need to pay, or cashing in pension to pay.
They are completely in disbelief that this could happen, knew nothing about it. Seems deceased had some kind of gambling addiction.
I suggest that you/they get some legal advice or contact the Citizen's Advice Bureau to establish what the situation is regarding them forcing a sale of the house if that's the only meaningful asset. if you can establish a pattern of them raising any credit limits you might also find that is a lever to negotiate the debt down.The administrator, will of course be the surviving partner. They are looking at selling the house if need to pay, or cashing in pension to pay.
They are completely in disbelief that this could happen, knew nothing about it. Seems deceased had some kind of gambling addiction.
They need to get some legal advice. Depending on how the property is held it may pass automatically to the remaining partner without a will, if it is Jointly held.
This might lead to the situation where the deceased has no assets that can be chased for the debt and the other party is not normally liable.
This might lead to the situation where the deceased has no assets that can be chased for the debt and the other party is not normally liable.
LimmerickLad said:
the_g_ster said:
@Countdown, yes, my bad english. But she had no savings, so possible that will need to sell their family house to pay the debts. Hence partner is wondering about cashing in pension in order to save having to sell the house.
Doubt they could force her to sell her share of the house or her pension..it's was his debt not hers....get her to have a free 30 mins chat with a solicitor.From the OP’s posts, the debtor has enough assets in the form of their share of the house, but the only options for the surviving partner are to sell the house (to unlock the deceased’s share) or cash in part of their pension to effectively buy out the dead party’s share of the house (leaving the deceased’s estate with cash which can then be used to settle the debt).
I don’t think they have ever indicated that the surviving partner is being pursued. Any “coming after” the surviving partner would presumable be on the basis of the estate being maladministered if they don’t deal with the debt before distributing.
nuyorican said:
blue_haddock said:
Despite many people think so, debt does not die with the debtor.
It does if you don't have anything. How could it be otherwise?E.g. die with 10k debt and 5k assets. The estate (from what’s written in the thread) would pay 5k to the creditor as that’s all that was left, and 5k would be written off by the creditor. Any dependents inherit nothing, but equally don’t have to find another 5k to fully settle the debt of the deceased.
TownIdiot said:
Simpo Two said:
Just want to check on something.
When my mother died there was a care bill of about £13K owing. As Attorney and then Executor I offered £10K and it was accepted.
Could I have told them to stick it where the sun don't shine?
If she didn't have any assets yes When my mother died there was a care bill of about £13K owing. As Attorney and then Executor I offered £10K and it was accepted.
Could I have told them to stick it where the sun don't shine?
It’s payable from the estate. This explains it well
https://www.legalandgeneral.com/insurance/over-50-...
https://www.legalandgeneral.com/insurance/over-50-...
asfault said:
Surely if a person is married the debt is shared. otherwise youd be using your other money to live on and have fun etc all the while spending or gambling on a credit card.
No, only if it’s a joint debt. Though the estate of the deceased is still liable for their debts. All debts should be paid off before any assets of the deceased are distributed to inheritors.Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff