Is this debt valid?.

[Denson]

My father passed away suddenly on the 15th December and had been meeting a lady for theatre trips, meals etc.
I am the sole beneficiary of his estate.
This lady first came along and said she had been promised my Dad's house but he could not have done this as I inherited half of it in 2007 when my mother passed away and my fathers half was willed to me. I just told her to go away and closed the door.
Suddenly I have had a letter from a solicitor saying my father borrowed £10,000 from this lady and it states this was witnessed by 7 people.
I have asked for the written evidence but they have stated there was none and the witnesses were sufficient.
I find it difficult to believe Dad borrowed the money as he had £35,000 in an easy access account as well as other money on term deposits.
Also he has not purchased anything needing that sort of money since early 2010.
If she takes me to court is she likely to get anything?.

Sue

[Booldawg]

without any written contract? she absolutely no chance. Sounds like a (lying)opportunist gold-digger.

[bednobs]

i would let her do all the running.

[bednobs]

who has 7 witnesses to anything anyway??

[EvianBaby]

When you say no written evidence, does that include her having no record of withdrawing 10k from a bank account?

There would be some record of the transaction surely, unless she keeps that kind of cash under her duvet.

[VHG]

Ask her to sue you for the money and lets see how many of these 7 people are willing to perjure themselves in court.

She has no chance of getting any money from your dads estate unless she has written evidence for the loan (legal document put together by a solicitor for example).

[Roddles]

Even evidence that she had taken £10K out of her bank account doesn't prove what she did with it. Get the names of the seven witnesses. Suggest that they could be Happy, Sneezy... It sounds about as likely as the rest of the story.

[EvianBaby]

I realise that Roddles, but my thought was that even she can't even show that then she really can't even have a case.

[Booldawg]

Even if this was the case, would she be able to claim this debt off his estate?

[MartinBev58]

If there is evidence £10,000 has been taken out of her account the bank would be able to trace which account it has been paid to.
I think the bank would have been asking questions before releasing that sort of an amount in cash to an elderly woman.

Martin

[MartinBev58]

It is over 2 months since your father passed away.
Why has this not been mentioned to you before?.

Martin

[factor-fiction]

Hi booldwag- yes, she can claim against the estate (just as other creditors can claim) but would need to satisfy the executors (or the courts) that it was a valid debt

[boxtops]

I'd go to your solicitor now, and lay all these allegations in front of them, and get a proper legal view of the situation - then you will be prepared as to what to do.

I can't believe the number of threads we've had about similar situations recently, where parents' girl-friends have suddenly appeared with claims against the parent's estate.

[jackthehat]

Write a letter back to her solicitors stating that you are responding to this letter as a matter of courtesy only.
Tell them that you absolutely and utterly refute their claims and will entertain no further correspondence from or with them save the issue of court-proceedings in the matter. And that should it proceed to litigation, you have the funds to mount a robust rebuttal which you will seek to reclaim from their client.

[Canary42]

She sounds an evil type - tried one con and it didn't work so cobbled together another one - it begs the question as to whether there was anything suspicious about your father's sudden demise (sorry for airing such an upsetting view if it's totally out of the question).

Were you aware of this lady's existence (as a friend of your father's) before she came to your door ?

My advice would be to await a court summons then consult an honest solicitor.

[grasscarp]

If he really borrowed money from her, then why did she not mention it when she came to the door? What is it alleged that he borrowed it for? People dont need that kind of money unless they are buying a big item. My advice would be same as Jackthehat's.

[Denson]

Hi Canary 42

A post mortem was carried out as the death was so sudden.
My father was 88 and was taking no tablets and had been called to the doctor the day before for a medical as he had not been for 10 months except for a flu injection and nothing showed up as being wrong at the time.
We were awaiting the results of some blood samples which did not come back till after he passed away but they were all within normal range.
After the visit to the doctor we went for a 4 mile walk with our dog which was not unusual.
A post mortem was done and it was heart failure. They did a good check for other possibilities.
As it happens he had not seen his lady friend between going to the doctor and his passing away. I had been with him most of the time.
I was aware of the lady's existance and I was not too happy with her.
She was wanting Dad to pay for a cruise for both of them which he did not want to go on as well as wanting him to buy her grandchildren very expensive christmas presents.
Dad was also not very pleased when she opened my pension statement and started talking about it when she visited my house.
As it happens Dad started talking to me about helping me replace my car when the 12 plate comes out when this woman was not there.
I could well afford to replace it myself but I supose he was wanting to be fair as he was in the car for more than half the mileage.
Health wise I think my father had a very good life. He only spent 1 night in hospital.

Boxtops

You have said about claiming against my father's estate.
The house went into my name last Thursday and all his money has gone onto my bank account so as far as I know there is no estate now.


Sue

[chaptazbru]

She's an opportunist gold digger. I'd just sit tight and let her get her knickers in a twist! Anybody can go to a solicitor and get a letter done, it doesn't mean anything.

[brenda]

Denson , I feel for you . What a hateful woman.You must be upset enough at the loss of your father without this.As others have wisely said , let her sweat , see a solicitor yourself if it makes you feel easier, but play the waiting game, and let things come to you from her .Do not even consider a dialogue with her.
All the best Brenda.

[bednobs]

just because the estate has been distributed, doesn't mean it's done and dusted, if she can prove a claim. Did the will go to probate? 2 months seems an incredibly short time for the estate to have already been distributed

[Barmaid]

It is very difficult to say whether or not she will get anything. But at max she will get £10k plus costs.

Whether she will get anything depends on the evidence. Whilst there might be seven witnesses, did they actually witness the transaction? I somehow doubt it. Unless she can produce some compelling evidence of said loan, I'd be inclined to ignore it. YOu could ask her to issue you with a formal letter of claim pursuant to the general pre action protocols under the Civil Procedure Rules (this is a letter which sets out the full basis for her claim and discloses any important documents on which she relies). Otherwise I wouldn't worry.