Debt after Death

[FriskyFrog]

Tried googling for answers but not finding what I need, can any wise Mumsnetters help?

Situation: Harold and Mavis are married for many years, and Harold dies an old man with very little. Mavis lives another 15 years before she sadly passes away.

Shortly after, Harold's sister-in-law, Violet, informs the executors that she loaned Harold £10k not long before he died, but Mavis was not a party to the loan. She did not want to bother Mavis with the debt after Mavis had just lost Harold, but now that Mavis has died, Violet would like the beneficiaries of Mavis's estate to settle the debt.

Settng aside the moral issues momentarily, am I right in thinking this was solely Harold's debt, and Violet has left it too long to have a valid legal claim?

[MissStein]

Yes

[FriskyFrog]

Oh wow, that was fast! Thank you MissStein

[llhj]

Any paperwork? What's the value of estate?

[FriskyFrog]

Value of Mavis's estate now is only approx 150k, which just comprises the house really. There was some equity in the house when Harold died, which automatically passed to Mavis as his spouse at that time, which may have been a bit in excess of 10k at that time, so perhaps if Violet had claimed at that time there could have been the opportunity to raise capital to repay Violet.

When I first heard about the situation today, I told the executors they should seek corroborating evidence from Violet about the debt, but then I heard that Violet's letter to the executors mentioned Mavis not knowing about the loan to Harold.

Fwiw I am not a beneficiary either.

[Collaborate]

I agree - the debt, if it ever existed, should have been claimed from Harold's estate before the debt was 6 years old. Far too late to claim now, and for good reason. Probably impossible to prove after so long it was a debt in any event.

[MrsBertBibby]

I agree. Violet needs to find a better scam.

[WalterWhitesNipple]

Violets a twat.

[SpotTheDuck]

No need to be nasty about violet, it's a plausible story and OP hasn't mentioned any reason to think she's lying.

I agree that legally violet has no claim. Morally the beneficiaries may want to see if there's any corroborating evidence then (assuming this loan really happened) they need to decide what to do.

[Collaborate]

Even if Violet had claimed at the time Mavis may not have been obliged to pay her out of the house equity if that was all that was in the estate
Property held as joint tenants passes to the survivor without forming part of the estate out of which debts are to be paid

Not true if the estate is insolvent.

[FriskyFrog]

That's interesting Collaborate. But would the statute of limitations still put Violet out of time? Is there any legal recourse for Violet?

FWIW I think it very probable that Violet is truthful. I think she did a noble thing; she lent money to someone who requested it, and even though it was a significant debt, she treated Mavis with great courtesy and kindness by never speaking of the debt when Harold died, to Violet's own financial detriment.

Violet has now explained that she made the decision that should she die before Mavis, then the debt would become irrelevant, but should she outlive Mavis, then she would request repayment.

[Collaborate]

The Limitation Act 1980 still applies.