Sorting finances after a death (No will)....
Discussion
Not Sure is this is more of a legal post as opposed to a Finance one, but i'll ask the
question(s)regardless and hopefuly someone can advise me....
My stepfather has recently been taken very ill, he is currently deteriorating fast and i am told that his confused state and lack of speech will remain until his death (I don’t think that he will last the weekend).....
With my mother understandably upset, I am trying to get to grips with their financial situation, which turns out, is not looking so good!
There is no will but going by the terms of intestancy? My mother should inherit the estate.
My questions relate to the correct approach to dealing with finances after my stepfathers death.
I beleive that a 'letter of administration' and an 'administrator' is probably the best route to go down, as opposed to full probate.
Do you know if (in terms of dealing with estate) the PA1 form and subsequent interview are all that is required, or are there other forms (I appreciate that the tax office and other government departments will need to be contacted) that are required?
My stepfather has no living parents, has no siblings or biological children - not even any friends to speak of. I guess this will necessitate the need for my mother to be the administrator? But I wondered if I would be able to take on that role?
My other question relates to finding out about debt or investments/accounts that we may not know about - Is there a form or process for finding out about the existence of such things?
I know the simple route would be to hire a solicitor, but currently the financial situation looks bleak....
There are some statements to indicate the existence of shares and pensions but nothing recent and no actual policies.
Whilst i know who the Mortgage (solely in my stepfathers name) is with - there are no policies or records of it. The only thing i can definitely say, is that there is lots of debt, with £16.000 on various credit cards and business and personal bank accounts being overdrawn.
Any advice on how we can deal with the financial affairs ourselves would be greatly appreciated.
My current knowledge/thoughts are
PA1 form and interview to apply for administration of death forms.
Set up bank account in the name of the 'estate'
Inform creditors
Phone mortgage company and contact any establishment that has any kind of link (recent or in the past) with regards to pensions and investments.
There is one more thing - Several years ago, my stepfathers mother died, there was a will and everything was left to him - Whilst trying to get affairs in order, i have found a paying in book for an old Abby National savings account, it is in his mother’s name and doesn’t appear to be a closed account - Would this become part of my step fathers estate?
I know that nothing can be done untill he has passed away, but i am trying to do as much foward planning now as possible.
Thanks....
question(s)regardless and hopefuly someone can advise me....
My stepfather has recently been taken very ill, he is currently deteriorating fast and i am told that his confused state and lack of speech will remain until his death (I don’t think that he will last the weekend).....
With my mother understandably upset, I am trying to get to grips with their financial situation, which turns out, is not looking so good!
There is no will but going by the terms of intestancy? My mother should inherit the estate.
My questions relate to the correct approach to dealing with finances after my stepfathers death.
I beleive that a 'letter of administration' and an 'administrator' is probably the best route to go down, as opposed to full probate.
Do you know if (in terms of dealing with estate) the PA1 form and subsequent interview are all that is required, or are there other forms (I appreciate that the tax office and other government departments will need to be contacted) that are required?
My stepfather has no living parents, has no siblings or biological children - not even any friends to speak of. I guess this will necessitate the need for my mother to be the administrator? But I wondered if I would be able to take on that role?
My other question relates to finding out about debt or investments/accounts that we may not know about - Is there a form or process for finding out about the existence of such things?
I know the simple route would be to hire a solicitor, but currently the financial situation looks bleak....
There are some statements to indicate the existence of shares and pensions but nothing recent and no actual policies.
Whilst i know who the Mortgage (solely in my stepfathers name) is with - there are no policies or records of it. The only thing i can definitely say, is that there is lots of debt, with £16.000 on various credit cards and business and personal bank accounts being overdrawn.
Any advice on how we can deal with the financial affairs ourselves would be greatly appreciated.
My current knowledge/thoughts are
PA1 form and interview to apply for administration of death forms.
Set up bank account in the name of the 'estate'
Inform creditors
Phone mortgage company and contact any establishment that has any kind of link (recent or in the past) with regards to pensions and investments.
There is one more thing - Several years ago, my stepfathers mother died, there was a will and everything was left to him - Whilst trying to get affairs in order, i have found a paying in book for an old Abby National savings account, it is in his mother’s name and doesn’t appear to be a closed account - Would this become part of my step fathers estate?
I know that nothing can be done untill he has passed away, but i am trying to do as much foward planning now as possible.
Thanks....
When my Father died I undertook probate so my Mother didn't need to deal with it. I don't really remember the details, but I was only 23 and did it myself without any particular hassle - people quite sympathetic, etc. I don't know the deal with administrator, but probate is a powerful tool IME and it could prove useful.
Re_debt. Anything such as loans and CC debt, make sure are in your stepfather's name. They are unsecured, so they should stop if he dies. I was able to wipe several thousands out because of this. Only one company asked for an in-kind payment, but I named my price and they didn't quibble - looking back now, I probably wouldn't even negotiate.
The priority should be what happens to the house...
Editted to add that I did take out a separate account for the estate, although it was in my name. I did this just so I could never be accused of holding on to any money from any family member.... It was all used in order to provide what it could for my Mother.
Re_debt. Anything such as loans and CC debt, make sure are in your stepfather's name. They are unsecured, so they should stop if he dies. I was able to wipe several thousands out because of this. Only one company asked for an in-kind payment, but I named my price and they didn't quibble - looking back now, I probably wouldn't even negotiate.
The priority should be what happens to the house...
Editted to add that I did take out a separate account for the estate, although it was in my name. I did this just so I could never be accused of holding on to any money from any family member.... It was all used in order to provide what it could for my Mother.
You will also need IHT 205 tax form for estate valuation purposes even if there is no tax payable (which there won't be if he has a surviving spouse). Unsecured debts don't disappear on death they have to be paid out of any assets in the estate, but only after secured debts and taxes have been paid first. If you become the administrator (as opposed to an executor appointed via a Will) it becomes your legal responsibility to ensure all debts are cleared in the correct order before distributing what's left to beneficiaries in the correct order.
Sorry to hear about your situation. Your post was helpful as I found myself in a similar situation at the weekend.
My partners sister was found dead on Sunday. My partner is her last immediate family member surviving. There is a child but he's 12 and was already in care. He also has severe learning difficulties.
Having spent 15 hours yesterday going through the piles of paperwork we found in her (rented) house the financial situation is similar to the OP's. £10k+ of debt and only a few hundred in the current accounts.
Our immediate priority is to find the cash for the funeral.
Due to the size/status of the estate I'm hoping that we don't even need to apply for letters of administration. I'm hoping we can quickly protect the cash from the bank accounts as the OP has done.
The CAB give some useful advice here
There is also a process for tracking down lost pensions link. I'm hoping there might be a little bit in there from her work 10+ years ago (all public sector).
My really question (sorry for long post above but hope it helps someone) is should I actually approach the debt collection folks? I know we aren't responsible for the debt but having seen various tales on here, I suspect that if we give them a new contact and address we'll be hearing lots more from them.
Finally, a minor rant, I'm just bloody amazed that people continue to throw credit at people that obviously aren't going to pay it back. The bank gave her a credit card last month - guess what, she went on a spending spree
My partners sister was found dead on Sunday. My partner is her last immediate family member surviving. There is a child but he's 12 and was already in care. He also has severe learning difficulties.
Having spent 15 hours yesterday going through the piles of paperwork we found in her (rented) house the financial situation is similar to the OP's. £10k+ of debt and only a few hundred in the current accounts.
Our immediate priority is to find the cash for the funeral.
Due to the size/status of the estate I'm hoping that we don't even need to apply for letters of administration. I'm hoping we can quickly protect the cash from the bank accounts as the OP has done.
The CAB give some useful advice here
There is also a process for tracking down lost pensions link. I'm hoping there might be a little bit in there from her work 10+ years ago (all public sector).
My really question (sorry for long post above but hope it helps someone) is should I actually approach the debt collection folks? I know we aren't responsible for the debt but having seen various tales on here, I suspect that if we give them a new contact and address we'll be hearing lots more from them.
Finally, a minor rant, I'm just bloody amazed that people continue to throw credit at people that obviously aren't going to pay it back. The bank gave her a credit card last month - guess what, she went on a spending spree
Gadge,
Unfortunately, the Pension Tracing Service is not particularly robust. What you may get from them is the last known contacts etc where there are any government records of any kind for the person in question. Usually, you need to get into "Poirot" mode to trace any pensions: the site you have given is a good start. The Pensions Advisory Service (all free and government financed) is regularly asked to assist tracing pensions, so I suggest that if you do get stuck give TPAS a call on their helpline 0845 601 2923. You may well end up being asked to send all relevant paperwork that you have and then you will be allocated to a TPAS Adviser (I'm one) who volunteeer their time on a pro bono basis.
Good hunting!
R.
Unfortunately, the Pension Tracing Service is not particularly robust. What you may get from them is the last known contacts etc where there are any government records of any kind for the person in question. Usually, you need to get into "Poirot" mode to trace any pensions: the site you have given is a good start. The Pensions Advisory Service (all free and government financed) is regularly asked to assist tracing pensions, so I suggest that if you do get stuck give TPAS a call on their helpline 0845 601 2923. You may well end up being asked to send all relevant paperwork that you have and then you will be allocated to a TPAS Adviser (I'm one) who volunteeer their time on a pro bono basis.
Good hunting!
R.
The Leaper said:
Gadge,
Unfortunately, the Pension Tracing Service is not particularly robust. What you may get from them is the last known contacts etc where there are any government records of any kind for the person in question. Usually, you need to get into "Poirot" mode to trace any pensions: the site you have given is a good start. The Pensions Advisory Service (all free and government financed) is regularly asked to assist tracing pensions, so I suggest that if you do get stuck give TPAS a call on their helpline 0845 601 2923. You may well end up being asked to send all relevant paperwork that you have and then you will be allocated to a TPAS Adviser (I'm one) who volunteeer their time on a pro bono basis.
Good hunting!
R.
Thanks R.,Unfortunately, the Pension Tracing Service is not particularly robust. What you may get from them is the last known contacts etc where there are any government records of any kind for the person in question. Usually, you need to get into "Poirot" mode to trace any pensions: the site you have given is a good start. The Pensions Advisory Service (all free and government financed) is regularly asked to assist tracing pensions, so I suggest that if you do get stuck give TPAS a call on their helpline 0845 601 2923. You may well end up being asked to send all relevant paperwork that you have and then you will be allocated to a TPAS Adviser (I'm one) who volunteeer their time on a pro bono basis.
Good hunting!
R.
That's really helpful info. I'm hoping we've got a good start point as my partner can hopefully recall the employers and at least the approximate years. As I said, they were NHS or local government roles which I'm hoping, possibly naively, might make it easier.
Spent a fair bit of time yesterday trying to connect bills, accounts, etc. so no stranger to "Poirot" mode! Now just waiting for interim death cert. so we can get cracking on next steps.
Cheers,
Gary
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