Am I being unreasonable

[amy1991Kaysie]

My mum is an alcoholic and is now in hospital with brain damage due to years of drinking. The family are trying to sort out her affairs along side her husband and have found thousands of pounds worth of debt that has obviously funded her drinking and smoking.

When I was 18 her husband was working full time and claiming benefits and after an argument with my mum I reported him for benefit fraud.

My sisters are now saying I am responsible for the debt because he had to pay back 10,000 pounds in benefits that he claimed as he wasn't entitled to them.

While I admit it wasn't a nice thing to do as a stroppy teenager, I don't feel responsible for the debt as he was an adult breaking the law and hes had 12 years to pay off the benefits he claimed falsely.

Am I being unreasonable????

No

Has kosakoff been diagnosed?
Your reporting them has not changed the outcome or compulsion to drink
This is not your responsibility.realistically an alcoholic was never going too repay £10k debt. Ever

Definitely not.

Do not let anyone guilt trip you into paying a single penny. He is the one guilty or a crime and part of his punishment is to pay back everything he has stolen

Yes, I have been contacting hospital regularly and taking snacks in as she is malnourished too.

Her husband has no other responsibilities so has been working to fund her lifestyle so he had no chance of paying off the debt either! Especially when he wasn't aware of it.

Just, no.

So sorry about your mum 💐

@MrsSkylerWhite Thank you but its been a long time coming. Im just pleased she's sober for the first time in years

He claimed them, he wasn't entitled to them. Not your fault, you don't owe a penny.

No. If you hadn't reported him, I hope someone else would have. Alcoholics get their money, like drug addicts, anyway they can. The debt would have been there anyway - if she had access to stolen benefits money your mum might have drunk herself to death years ago. That is something your sisters should consider.

This is not your fault in anyway.

Not your fault in any way , he committed the fraud not you, she is an alcoholic not you .

@StoneofDestiny ... I like the way you think, but they think she is better off dead anyway as she doesn't know where she is. :(

My sisters are now saying I am responsible for the debt because he had to pay back 10,000 pounds in benefits that he claimed as he wasn't entitled to them.
Did you claim the benefits ? No?

If your sisters are that bothered they can pay it....

Is it not the case that when a person dies, their debt goes too? Assuming they left no assets, obvs.

Your sisters are wrong. The debts were accrued because of the husbands actions. You don't owe anyone anything.

@ViciousJackdaw Your right but she's not dead yet, she's just in hospital and has been declared as not having capacity so will probably be going into a care home.

However I think they can have the debt written off as she doesn't have capacity.

Who is she in debt to?

If they are her debts, in her name, no one takes over liability for or inherits the debt.