To be completely shocked and very worried?

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Having major renovations done to my house. My plumber/electrician has been doing work the last 2 weeks, he'd fitted new boiler and central heating and had started ripping out the bathroom. He runs his own business and doesn't have any staff.

However, I am completely shocked as I have just seen on Facebook that he died suddenly Friday night. I'm am so saddened for his partner. It's very very sad he was only 48.

I'm now left wondering where I go from here? I had not paid money to him, was going to get an invoice at the end. How do I go about paying the work that was done? I haven't been contacted by anyone and as far as I am aware he had a girlfriend but she didn't take to do with the business.

Also, will I need to get a new quote from a different plumber now and will they start a job half way through?

Just to make it clear, my house is not important, I'm totally aware of that, the man has lost his life. I'm just wondering where to go from here. He was expected here at 8.30 am tomorrow morning

Should i expect to be contacted by someone about this?

I think just wait and see re invoices, meanwhile book someone else to complete the job. I had to when another guy messed up the tiling, so would be fine to ask someone to complete it. Odd situation, isn’t it? I have no idea re who/how you would pay/work out who/what you owe.

Should i expect to be contacted by someone about this?

Yes, but not yet. I would expect this to be something dealt with by whoever is responsible for sorting out his estate.

A nice thing to do would be to pay in cash. Probate in an unexpected death is likely to be a nightmare. Work out how much you owe and drop round with a pre-written receipt for his widow to sign, along with a sympathy card.

Oh my goodness, how awful! Are you sure it was him who passed away? Could it be mis-information? 😬

As for the money owed to him, does he have children? I wouldn't want to give any money to his girlfriend if he has children. Maybe his parents, if still alive. What a terrible thing to have happened. I think I would take a bit of time to ascertain what the best course of action is.

I think his widow will probably have enough to think about, and his Work invoices will come way down her list of priorities at the moment. Of course you will likely be invoiced for the work carried out, but I would guess it will probably be after the funeral.

I'd drop a card in with a note saying you are so sorry for her loss, you would like to pay in cash for the work done and you will wait to be contacted and you're happy to get a quote from someone else to recommend how much to pay and drop this amount round, and then you can sort out finer details when she is ready to

I wouldnt do anything except keep the money aside for when youre asked for it. The last thing theyll be interested in right now is sorting out his invoices etc

I expect his estate will contact you for payment so if you drop round cash, you might cause problems or be expected to pay twice.

Yes positive now, unfortunately it is definitely him. No he has no kids...not sure about parents..also don't know his address to go with cash. I will sit tight and see if anyone gets in touch. Just really shocked, poor guy.

I think you take pics of jobs done and jobs not done. Get someone else to complete the job. Leave it at least a few weeks before contacting to try any pay owed. They will be sorting funeral etc so best to wait a bit to deal with business side of things. At some point they will need to look into his jobs etc, so best to wait until it something they start to deal with.

Why are people advising you to pop money round to his 'widow?' If you can't be bothered to read the OP properly why think you are qualified to give advice?!?

If she is his girlfriend you can't assume she is his next of kin or his inheritor. What happens if two years from now his niece/brother/parents/battersea dog home come round asking for the money they are legally owed? The girlfriend could say she never had it (particularly if you pay it in cash! ) or even if she did they could try and get it back off you instead because there was no legal reason for you to give it to her!

I get why other posters are trying to make the 'nice' suggestion but it could end up with you in lots of trouble! As squiglet said, take photos of everything, make a note of the price you'd agreed and what had/hadn't been done, back up any messages that mention prices, and wait for someone to contact you (might be a while!).

I would actually hang fire from paying cash. You need a properly invoiced and business receipt for payment otherwise when the estate is being sorted you will have no proof of payment. I know you think you are doing the right thing but to protect yourself it would be better to wait for an official invoice/bill and make the payment electronically.

Personally I’d just set aside some money for payment of what has been done so far, but wait to hear. As others have said I assume someone will have to deal with sorting out his estate and business.

I’d maybe also try to find out his address to pop a card around of condolences.

Paying in cash to girlfriend sounds like a terrible idea albeit nobley meant. Girlfriend is not necessarily responsible for his estate, and it will depend how his business is set up as to how it will be wound up or taken over/sold on. Paying cash could leave you wide open to paying twice.

Take photos of work done to date. Get a new guy in to quite for remainder of work, and ask if they will make a professional note of what is left to do.

Set the money you owed aside. Wait for a month or so then contract the company or executors to see what to do.

I would take pictures so that you can show the job is half finished and to be honest I am not so sure about you getting the job finished because they could claim your man finished the job and you will have to pay in full unless you can prove otherwise, I would not contact anyone.

Take pictures of what has been done so far.

Hold off actually doing anything for the moment, someone may be in touch - his partner and friends will realise you are expecting him.

He may have been friendly with people in the trade that can/will want to step in for him.

If nothing happens next week or so get someone round to quote to complete the work.

I don't wish to worry you but you may have a couple of problems here. A new boiler installation needs to be reported to Building Control, this is done via the Gas Safe register. Once the plumber has done this you get sent a certificate. Do you have the certificate yet? Also, certain electrical work needs to be certified. Was any electrical work done?

Personally I'd document what he's done so far with notes and pictures. Then I'd get quotes for completing the job with 2-3 others and choose one of them (provided suitable). Someone who is sorting out his estate will be in touch with you but I wouldn't go chasing that down - it seems pretty insensitive for one thing.

I would go along with what others have said, take photographs that are date stamped to show the work done up to now, put some money aside to pay when his estate gets in touch.

To back this up I would make sure any quotes you get to finish the work specify how much work is left for them to do.

Definitely don’t offer cash at this point, it’s terribly sad but this could cause problems for you later on.

A nice thing to do would be to pay in cash

Yes, but who to?

Hold on to an amount you consider will cover the work done so far and cover the cost of materials, boiler etc.

An outstanding payment will be classed as a debt to his estate whether he has left a will or not and as such, will be called in by whoever is authorised to administer his estate (if he died intestate) or by the executor applying for probate. He may also have an accountant who does his annual accounts. And yes, take photos of the work carried out so far.

If you haven't already got them, you will also need to pursue provision of a certificate and guarantee for the installation of the boiler and a certificate for any new electrical work he has carried out of the type that requires an electrician's certificate.

I would make a note of what work has been completed and any materials bought by him/you. Take photos of the house as it stands now. Then get a new tradesman to finish it off, ask him to also keep a note of exactly what he does and what he hasn't needed to do as it was already done by the previous workman. Then just wait to be contacted. Dont go trying to be 'helpful' or 'proactive' as harsh as it sounds you and your house are the bottom of everyone's list right now.

All the local plumbers will have heard the news and know he has left work unfinished.

So it's fine for you to contact local plumbers right away and say
"I am looking for someone to finish my bathroom installation which Bob Jones was working on when he passed away. PLease get in touch if you could take on the work."

Meantime take pictures of everything he's done. It will probably be a few weeks before you hear from his family /friends/ executor about an adjusted payment for work done so far.

If you had agreed a complete price for the work. I suggest you would deduct from it the cost of another plumber finishing the job (and doing the gas and installation accreditations), and pay the balance to the estate of the man who died.

If you need any further help and advice , contact customer services at your home insurers . Their legal advisers can help.

His partner / nobody, May not even know what work he had outstanding or was part way through.
My OH is self employed - stand alone, no employees. I wouldn’t know exactly what jobs he was on, he sometimes does 2 or 3 at a time. He keeps most things on his phone in the calendar - but random notes that wouldn’t make sense to me.

I type the quotes, but wouldn’t know which ones were agreed and he was working on.

So, maybe nobody will contact you to inform you or to obtain any payment.

I’d probably pay part of the quote - depending on how it was written - day work? An overall price? Broken down into individual prices for different jobs?

Write a letter with you contact details, what work was carried out and say you’ll be ready to settle when they are, and to feel free to contact you at their convenience. Maybe the new tradesman can let you know how much you should pay, depending on what work was done if the quote wasn’t broken down.