Are we now responsible for FILs debts now he's passed away?

[DebtAfterDeath]

Really sorry, posted in legal but also here as i know traffic is heavier and i am desperate for advice.
FIL recently passed away ( 5 weeks ago).
Today my husband has found a letter from Ovo stating he owes £3600.
We also believe he had other debs and CCJs but we have no idea on the amounts.
My SIL used the Tell us Once service but Citizens Advise told me today they don't notify people he owes money to and that's our responsibility.
His only estate is the £6000 in his bank when he died (which the bank have already sent to SIL and she has split in half with my husband) and a potential £10k life insurance claim. He privately rented and had nothing else, no valuables and so on.
We are really worried that we may get chased up for money and Citizen's Advise have recommend we register his death in The Gazette. It's going to cost £100 to do it (fine). But nobody I'm talking to seems to have heard of this and are saying pretty much just leave it, he didn't own a lot anyway and this is more for people with large estates.
We want to do the right thing I'm just not sure what that is?
Also there is an option on The Gazette to use the forwarding address service so our address doesn't get disclosed but again this doubles the cost of the notice to almost £200 and we aren't sure how necessary it is
We are so clueless, I'd be really grateful for any advice. The lady at Citizen's Advice was lovely but admitted she got all her advice off the internet as it was a new one to her!
Thanks

I don't live in the UK, so forgive me for not knowing that it was such a draconian place you could be jailed for non-payment of council tax - whatever that may be - or indeed any debt.

I'm afraid that 10k life insurance and the £6 in his account should have been put together by the executive of the will or if there is none, whoever is managing his affairs and all debts paid from it before anything was transferred to yourself or others. Debts always come first with any money left after a death. They will chase and will demand the full debt as they should have received this from the estate.

Op how old are was he, apologises if you said I had a wick skim and couldn't get see.

If over 80 make sure he got his pension uplift

They will chase and will demand the full debt as they should have received this from the estate.

Bet they don’t. It would be more trouble than it was worth for £3k.

Same when my father passed. He lived in rented accommodation and always paid his bills so the only debts accumulated were utilities and phone. (He paid quarterly).

So I wouldn't worry about paying or posting an announcement in the paper. His debts will be written off.

£100?! I just registered something in the London Gazette and the cost is something random like £34.40 or £24.40.

On the money side of things: I believe you won't be responsible for his debts but any money he did have will need to go towards paying them.

I suspect the £6K needs to go to outstanding debts.

However, the Life Insurance Policy is usually payable to a specific person and not connected to the person dying. I would hope this means that this money belongs to that person rather than the Estate.

I hope this whole mess is a warning to future posters who meddle in estates without even a basic Google check - government advice is very clear and easily available if you have internet access!

So are guides on what the TEll us once service is and what responsibility lays with the Executor/ beneficiaries... It's not rocket science and the idea that someone would release ££s of assets from the bank and immediately distribute without understanding the implications or responsibility/ legality involved is staggering. The idea that it's the banks responsibility to ensure fair distribution of assets from the estate according to a will, intestate laws, and debtors.. how on earth would they oversee that, or know the details? To do it properly needs someone to deal with the estate's details, and for most estates of this size it's fairly straightforward. If not, throw money at lawyers to deal with it. But let's not assume the bank has any responsibility, that's mad 🙄

I am currently dealing with my mothers estate - there was a will & a solicitor was named as the executor - so I have not had to deal with the messy side of things. Mums life insurance was paid directly to the executor and is part of her estate - they have control over all her money until probate s granted. Once Probate is granted they place an ad. in the London Gazette and a local newspaper - Which simply tells people she has passed away and asks anyone who has a claim on her estate to contact them (debtors that we may have no knowledge of or maybe even family members we know nothing about or anyone who thinks they have a claim on Mum’s estate) anyone who has a claim has a limited time to make contact - I think it’s about 2 or 3 months once this period is up the executors will pay Mum’s outstanding bills (council tax, utility bills etc) and then I will be reimbursed funeral costs and get anything that is left.
You will not inherit your father- in -law’s debts but they must be paid from any assets that he had (ie the £6000 he had in the bank) I don’t know why the bank released these funds to your sister in law - but the fact that they did does not mean the money cannot be claimed by his creditors I think the best thing to do - for your own peace of mind is to follow the advice given on the government website about what to do when someone dies - pay the debts and not have to worry about this, the creditors may well write off the debts - but you need to speak to them and explain what has happened. If I were you I would be worried not about his debts - but being pursued for misappropriating his capital if the debtors found out. It’s a horrid thing to have to deal with while you’re grieving I hope it gets sorted out without too much upset

I meant in the context they won't have to pay them out of their own money. Yes, the debts need to be paid from the dad estate. I agree. I wasn't clear. I know

If he has life insurance you could use that to pay his debts. If that's insufficient you and your DS need to cover them, up to the £3k you each took.

Letters will soon arrive, wait for them so you see how much they are.

Once his estate is fully drained (you can exclude funeral costs) then you pay no more.

I think you'll need to do a probate form too.

Yes, the bank should not have let you have the money. All his debts have to be settled before you get any inheritance.

The bank is not responsible for the money or the debt. They have released it because this amount was within the limits of what they will release upon production of a death certificate and a signed indemnity form. Where is your 'should' from? Who would impose this 'rule' you've invented about what 'should' happen?

DWP generally do a check that any benefits haven't been overpaid, they are relentless and won't just simply not bother.

Until probate is granted this money is still part of the estate. It can be used for expenses, such as to pay for a funeral, but debts come before people who inherit what remains of the estate. If the estate is considered not to need probate that's a different matter.

I used to work for a debt collection agency. Send them the death certificate they will close the debt. You will not likely be liable. Especially if credit accounts like catalogue, credit card or payment plans

Exactly. And this estate doesn’t need probate as you’d have realised if you’re such an expert.

They don't actually know this, do they?

Yes they do. The government definition of estates requiring probate was shared with OP several pages back and this estate doesn’t meet the criteria. It always helps if you RTFT.

I'm not a legal person but when my mum died, there was about £1200 in a bank account, a small insurance policy (around £3000) and a credit card debt of £500. We were advised that funeral costs could be covered by the small amount of money in the bank and the insurance policy.

Once we notified the bank she had died they froze her account and so we couldn't access the £1200 until the bank released it. As there was nothing left over after we'd paid for the funeral, I wrote to the credit card company and they wrote off the debt.

You are not personally liable for his debts but if there is any cash in his estate, debts would come from that. However I am not 100% sure if life insurance policies count as being part of an estate.

In short, your SIL should not have accessed that money and as far as I know, taking money from a deceased person's account could land her in some serious trouble!

Put in an anonymous call to Citizens Advice and get their take on it all.

I'm sure there is a list somewhere on this thread about amounts needed for probate so this has probably already been mentioned but I was quite surprised that if you hold premium bonds it is as little as £5k before its needed.

Oh I see that the bank released the funds and the SIL didn't access the money - whew!

Defo get some advice from CAB. If it's an energy debt, the company might just write it off.

When my FIL died, My husband rang the Gas provider ( in Wales) explaining he was deceased and was informed it would be written off as they can't pursue a debt to the relatives (my husband and his siblings) aand at different parts of the country, he did offer to settle the bill but the guy said "It's not in your name and not your debt" and did't ask for our address NW so who can they send the "bill" to! My hubby found a sympathetic advisor but they can't force you to settle it. Morally wrong but it was for about £96>

Not sure why you've quoted me here?

So sorry for your loss. My father died very suddenly with covid a couple of years ago and I initially dealt with his affairs before appointing a probate solicitor. My dads bank paid me what was in his accounts and it was quite a lot which surprised me. I thought it would be frozen but as others have said, each organisation has its own limits as to what they can pay out before probate is needed. I just kept hold of it and only passed it to our solicitor at the end when all assets were accounted for and they did the estate distribution.
hope you get it all sorted. It’s a bloody headache!

You should not have spent any of the moment. That’s for the debt. His assets should be used to cover outstanding debt.