Help with fathers estate

printerman · 04-01-2007, 20:51

Hi my father has just passed away and i'm trying to sort out his estate as the next of kin.
He rented his house so nothing happening there.
He has left an amount in his bank account which matches the debt on his goldcard with the same bank. Does one cancel the other out, ie does the bank pay the debt with the credit or are there laws in place that pays for the funeral first with the amount left and then the bank have to reclaim this from the estate?

any help appreciated.

Ramrod · 04-01-2007, 21:00

Does the estate have anything else that could pay the bank back?

Sorry for your loss m8

punky · 04-01-2007, 21:06

Sorry to hear about your loss mate

Contact the card company. They might write off the loss, as I know this happens, but only in the US so far. It might well work the same here.

Also, with Gold cards them normally come with built-in insurances, etc which might pay off the debt for you.

Debts have to be settled out of the estate. AFAIK contribution to the funeral isn't classed as a debt so is the last out of the bag

You might be able to argue this in probate court though.

You might be able to get death benefits though, so there might be money left over.

Mal · 04-01-2007, 21:14

Printerman...

Sorry about your loss. I recently had to go through this with my dad.

Did your dad not have any policies to cover the funeral expense?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavin

Contact the card company. They might write off the loss, as I know this happens, but only in the US so far. It might well work the same here.

They will do it once they realise that there is nothing left in the estate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavin

Also, with Gold cards them normally come with built-in insurances, etc which might pay off the debt for you.

Some of the insurance only pays for accidental death, but make a claim anyway.

RUSTY · 05-01-2007, 17:45

as mentioned some gold cards have built in insurance,also some bank accounts carry loyalty insurance mostly worth around Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£500.00

Angua · 05-01-2007, 18:56

Speak to the Bank, they will try and take the money for the card if there is no insurance. Everything your father possessed is part of his estate, from clothes to furniture and knick knacks.

Very crappy time at the moment for you and my thoughts are with you.

Jules · 05-01-2007, 21:01

Sorry for your loss

SMHarman · 06-01-2007, 04:02

Basically if the liabilities of the estate outweigh the assets then the assets are split equitably and the rest is tough luck (written off by the liabilty owner)

However... Didn't you mention a house? Is that free of lien (mortgage free)? If so then I imagine there are assets a pleanty to pay off liabilities. Just they are not liquid.

As has been said, funeral costs are not a cost of the deceased, they are a cost of those arranging the funeral.

Gold Cards often have insurance, but normally bank ones require you to pay the 72p/Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£ rip off insurance policy each month.

Also if the house plus other assets is over the Inheretance Tax threshold (somewhere around Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£250,000) then you will need to pay IHT, another problem if there if you have tennants and cannot sell the house.

So on those limited facts, the debt will probably need to be settled, once the estate is valued if there is IHT that will need to be paid as will the probate fees before any assets can be transferred.

If you are planning on doing nothing with the house and keeping the tenants put, you (and any other relatives?) could take out a small buy to let mortgage on the property to cover these debts etc, also, you know that there will be an income stream from the property, so that can be used to cover any loans you may need to take out to pay funeral costs etc.

Hope that made some sense