Collection Of Debts After Someone Dies

[obsessed]

My sister died recently and I am dealing with her affairs. Unbeknown to me she had been chased for some time by various debt collectors all relating to the same original creditor but three different loans of varying amounts. I have written all these debt collectors and all they say is they will pass it back. I have tried ringing but no one will tell me what this means. Each debt appears to be sent from the original creditor to a debt collector, then another and another. Where do I go now?

[Old_Geezer]

I would guess that they mean that they will tell the person who hired them to chase the debts that the debtor has died. (And on backwards as necessary.)

If the debt is genuine I'd have thought it would be owed by the estate. I'm unable to advise though. Hopefully the experts will be along soon to say if there is a set time you have to hold on to everything before passing on to whomever inherits.

[factor-fiction]

Are you the executor, obsessed?

[Mick-the-Miller]

If the value of the estate is not enough to pay off all the debts owed by the deceased, this is known as an 'insolvent estate'. Where this is the case, the personal representative must payoff what debts they can from the deceased's Estate in the following priority order.

Secured debts such as mortgage and secured personal loans.

Reasonable funeral costs and the costs of administering the estate.

Unsecured debts, such as credit cards, unsecured personal loans, gas, water and telephone bills, unpaid rent, Council Tax and other taxes, and repayment of overpaid benefits.

If there isn’t enough money to pay everyone, the personal representative should take advice from a probate specialist on which debts should take priority, and they should inform the creditors that the estate is insolvent.

[themas]

MtM - the funeral costs should take priority over everything else.

obsessed - don't follow divebuddy. You can't feign ignorance. That way you can end up with personal liability if there is money in the estate. You need to find out what the assets are & then identify all the debts. As MtM says the assets go to pay the debts. Anything left over goes to the beneficiaries.

[DTCwordfan]

so if you are up the Khyber financially, it's best not to have a will then.....no nominees as executor/trustees....

[bednobs]

but not if it's already happened!
i think from prev questions, obsessed's sister died some time ago with no will, and she had LOA in joint names with their other sister

[themas]

divebuddy I agree an advert is necessary as a protection, but the creditors the o.p. is worried about are ones she already knows of - she has written to them (or their debt collectors) so can't avoid any potential liability to them through the advert (which is what think your first post was suggesting).

[factor-fiction]

It's the estate that's liable not the OP

[factor-fiction]

It's a good idea to leave the estate pretty much untouched for some time- I'd say at least 6 months- before it's distributed, to give time for all assets and liabilities to be established

[themas]

f-f - the o.p. could become liable personally if he/she knew of a debt which the estate owed, did not pay it & paid out money from the estate to beneficiaries; the same applies if they don't advertise as divebuddy suggested (& it is important that one such advert be in the London Gazette) & a creditor later makes a claim against the estate.