DO WE PAY THIS DEBT?

[Blankuser1992]

Get the snacks ready because this is a semi long story.... So my great aunt recently passed away. She basically raised me for the last 25 years and spent the last 6 months in a care home.

She passed away very recently and I've come back to help her biological daughter (who is in bits) to plan the funeral and help.

My great aunt was 86 and her daughter is 66 ish (not good at birthdays).

So yesterday my cousin ( great aunts daughter lets call her Carole ) for a letter from our council in regards to a bill from the care home.

This letter demanded £5000 (roughly) for the cost of the care up to the point my G aunt died.

Now, carol doesn't have that and she certainly doesn't have it spare each month!

So my great aunt was paying for her own time in the care home with her three pensions etc , which we have now stopped after informing tax office(S) of her passing and showing the death certificate.

Carole's name isnt on any of the bills and they don't have her account details, she never signed anything in regards to the home and my great aunt didn't state that Carole would be liable to pay.

So what are we to do? It's not up to Carole to pay her mums debt surely!?

In my great aunts account there's just over a grand left but she had no savings etc to pay it off with.

So I'm at a loss of what to do when they eventually write to Carole again! Where do we stand? Who should we call?

Help

It isn't Carole's debt. They may try to bully her into taking responsibility for it, but she can tell them to stuff it

Yes they may well do, so be prepared for this and to send an assertive letter telling them to wait until the estate has been sorted out assuming there is anything left.

I remember someone telling me that they had a demand from their mother's mortgage lender for payment after her death - the lender concerned tried to say the daughter were responsible for continuing the mortgage payments. She soon set them straight.

I am shocked at how horrible some companies are though. It's not good enough to say that they are standard letters etc - they seriously need to look at their processes for dealing with bereaved people (or simply people who've had to go into a care home).

My father died last year and I dealt with his estate myself. It was relatively straight-forward though with no tax to pay and I'd had power of attorney for about 6 months before he died.

I also assume a probate solicitor is used in the vast majority of deceased estates, especially one like this where the lady was likely insolvent/bankrupt at time of death due to this bill.

Vanishingly likely to be the case in that circumstance - who’s going to pay the solicitor bill? A small estate without property or savings or other assets isn’t even going to need probate.

Another one thinking they are trying it on, though they may of sent the bill to 'Carole' assuming she is dealing with any estate.

As someone else posted, you are aloowed to have some money (£23,000) or thereabouts so they may assume there is money to pay the balance.

I would be asking for a break down though and wouldn't just take the word of this letter that there is money owed. If there is little or no money in your Aunts Estate then I think the Funeral Directors get first dibs, the care home would not be first in the queue

I wish the OP would answer a few basic questions.

Did the aunt own a property?

Did she have any investments such as shares

If the answer is yes then the amount owing will come from these funds. The daughter should not be liable for the debt unless she had agreed with the care home that she would be funding her mother's stay there.

When the aunt went into the home, who arranged it? Was a social worker involved?

If the aunt actually needed medical care then she may not have been liable for the costs of the home at all.

Good luck

I wish the OP would answer a few basic questions.

Give her a chance - the original OP was only posted an hour ago. Not everyone hangs over the computer waiting to check responses...

As someone else said, if the Great Aunt needed nursing care it might be the case that the council should have been paying. MIL currently has her care fully funded.

Even if there is a debt it doesn't have to be paid until the estate is settled and Carole wouldn't be liable even if there's no money in the estate.

When MIL went into a home they originally put the bills in DH's name as he arranged everything. When I spotted it I suggested he changed it as there's no way we could thafford the fees (£4K+ per month) and, at the time, MIL was able to make her own decisions.

Is Carole the Power of Attorney? It’s not her debt, it’s her mother’s debt.

hello all!

Sorry I've been busy sorting out my G aunts clothes from the care home.

to add some info to the story

My great aunt did not have any savings, real estate ( house) BUT did have policies that her daughter will get.

She had a funeral policy with co op and one other which is just about covering the cost of the entire funeral as she took these out in 1993 ( Jesus).

I've explained to Carole that it IS NOT HER DEBT and she does not need to pay it so will write letter / email to council to advise that my g aunt did not have any assets left at the time of her debt.

Sorry for being impatient and thanks for coming back. But if there is anything left even from insurance policies then that money might have to be used to pay debts. There is some information on the internet saying what priority the debtors should be paid. Funeral costs come first from what I understand. I think they will want proof that nothing is left from the estate. And sometimes councils only cover part of the cost of care home fees depending on the Council and it's arrangements with carehomes. It's not that straightforward. Hope it gets sorted out.

OP, did she leave a will? It would have named the executors.