My mum's died; her mortgage?

[LenniesToast]

I appreciate there's a bereavement topic, but I really can't be arsed to find it right now. I need to know practically what to do about some things, if you know, please do tell me what to do.

My mum has very recently died, having chosen to end her life after a very long period of ill health and bad medical news. It was pain free and comfy and in many ways a good death. This is ok.

However, due to this there will need to be a postmortem and I will not be able to get death certificates for a little bit. In the meantime, I have tried to tell her work and ultimately left a message. I have spoken with the coroner and a funeral home. I have cleaned up the physical aftermath of her death as there was quite a bit of blood I didn't want my little brother to see.

But, what do I do about her mortgage? I can't do anything without death certificates I think. My little brother (early 20s) still lives with her. He's travelling at the moment, so away from it all and with family. I need to make sure he has his home to get back to, and not a pile of angry letters about bills and such. I don't have a clue how much money she'll have in her bank account and if direct debits will bounce... But I can't even register her as dead yet, so I don't know what to do about it all at all. It's just us now, so I don't have anyone to advise me.

I don't feel grown up enough for all this.

OP I am so sorry. I hope somebody more informed than me will be along shortly.
In this position I would speak to a solicitor and the bank

Have you spoken to the bank? They must have procedure for this as it will
happen more often than you might think.
I’m very sorry for your loss and I think you sound strong and fantastic.

I’m so sorry for your loss. I suggest that you should contact the mortgage company to notify them. Banks often have a team who focus on bereavements - are you able to say the name of the bank and we can try to find contact details for you.

I am so sorry for your loss and the difficult way it has happened
I think all you can do for now is go into her bank and tell them the circumstances in person, if possible. If not, in a letter.
They will then know the fact of the death and that it means there may be delays in obtaining the legal details needed. And then do the same for the mortgage lender with assurances thar you will let them know further details as they become known. As long as they know, you should be covered for eventualites.
The funeral directors will have seen this situation before and they too might be able to help.
I think that's pretty much all you can do for now while you wait for things to be formalised.

Is the coroner able to issue an interim death certificate while investigations are carried out? I got this for my brother and organisations accepted it and froze payments etc until the full death certificate was issued.

It's always best to be honest with mortgage company and bank. Her account will most likely be frozen. Until a death certificate is issued nothing much will happen.

The bank will have a bereavement team - call them up and explain the situation. They will tell you what is possible and what you need to do. In my experience they are very sympathetic and reasonable. I am very sorry for your loss.

Hi OP, I can help a little with this as my own mum died very unexpectedly and since she didn't have a husband, the responsibility of probate etc fell to me, her eldest daughter. She too needed a post mortem, so I understand the delays. I can only give you an account of my experience, which was 5 years ago, and things might have changed now.

• There will be a delay in getting a 'full death certificate' (I think it has a proper name) but you do get a half - death certificate, issued from the coronor to your funeral director, which will allow for the post mortem to go ahead via a histology, but you can bury the body. A histology is a sample of the organs that they then keep and do the PM on, assuming no foul play.
• Call up the banks, they are really useful and used to dealing with this. Immediately ask to speak to the bereavement team, which means you skip all the queues of the normal customer services. You'll be asked if you are the next of kin, and if there is a full - or partial - death certificate. In most instances they'll accept the half one. I seem to remember I needed to go in to the actual branches, which was a palaver for me as she had several business and personal accounts. If there's an overdraft, it's a bit complicated and depends on how big it is, but you aren't liable for them personally.
• Re the mortgage, my mum had £20,000 left on hers. Call you the mortgage lender and explain the situation. They'll freeze any payments (though I can't remember if they freeze interest, I doubt it!) and the balance will be drawn off the value of the house when it gets sold. If the house falls to you and your brother in probate, then yes you become liable for the payment of that mortgage.
• It's a pain in the neck, but try and dig around for as many utilities as you can and rinse and repeat the above. Call up Vodafone, Sky, British Gas - whoever, and put a freeze on all of these.

Ultimately, this is a really normal and common practice for the banks and utilities and it's all designed to be as easy on you as possible, as long as you get the information they require. It's only scary and complicated because you've not done it before.

Sorry for your loss, take time for yourself. No one will be banging down the door if you don't rush this.

Hugs - I am sorry for your loss.

I agree - call the bank. Do you have any information, such as a mortgage number for her, so they can find the right account?

Also, you may find this checklist useful for covering all the bases in who to call.

If she took her own life there will be a coroner involved if its england. Ring their office or your coroners officer and ask for interim death certificates. Get 5 for ease. These work in the interim of a death certificate.

Sorry for your loss.

Speak to the lender. There may also be a life policy that should repay the mortgage when the borrower dies.
My thoughts are with you.

You can get interim death certificates from the coroner

Im sorry about your mum.

Also may be worth checking if any life policy is still valid, given that OP’s mum took her own life.

If she worked she may well have had a pension and life insurance which would cover the mortgage, so go through her paperwork and see if you can find anything. You may have to contact her work (HR dept) to find this out but if there is something it may help with the conversation you’ll have to have with her mortgage company. Also look for a will if possible. Can you have her post redirected to you if you can’t collect it regularly?

Agree that the coroner should issue an interim death cert though which should be enough for banks, work, mortgage etc.

Hi OP, I'm so sorry for your loss. I work for an energy company and deal with a lot of bereavement stuff. We tend to refer people to Settld, which is a platform that tells everyone involved for you (or most anyway!) about the bereavement, so would recommend starting with that free service to take away a chunk of the admin. Suspect Settld will also tell mortgage company as well as energy company and any other bills too. In terms of energy (not that you asked, but people often do) no supply will be cut off. The bills will simply be sent to 'the estate of your DM' and will just be settled when the house sells. Lights and heating etc will all still be fine to use in her house when needed.

Ultimately you, your brother/any other siblings WILL NOT be responsible for any debt she has. The estate will, so if the house gets sold at some point, any debts need to be paid before any money goes to you and your brother, but you won't need to put your hand in your pocket, nor should you offer to, don't let yourself struggle financially.

Can't say publicly which energy company I work for as this username is linked to me, but if I can help, please feel free to DM me!

Why?

Why on earth would you do that ?

Because of all the unnecessary background information.

Could be a traumatised next of kin talking, of course.

You’re referring to OP talking about clearing up after her mum’s death. Why - it doesnt go into detail, it may just be OP offloading the stress ? As a kinder option you could have suggested to OP that she ask MN to put a trigger warning on the title, rather than risk deletion.

So what, sone people are not bothered about anonymity.

You sound wonderful.

i can’t help with your specific question, but i used to work for Citizens Advice and a lot of people found this guide very helpful, so i hope it might be some use to you: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/what-to-do-after-a-death/

As I already acknowledged, that is entirely possible. However, the detail has nothing to do with the substance of her question. It is up to MN how they respond.

My mother died last year and I had to sort out all her affairs. Pretty much every organisation I had to contact (banks, insurance, council tax, utility companies etc) had a dedicated bereavement team. They were all extremely nice and understanding. Just call the bank and explain the situation. I guarantee this is not the first time they've encountered this situation. I would guess they'll make a note and ask you (or the executor if it's someone else) to let them know when you do have a death certificate and probate.

Dealing with an estate can be a lot of admin. Don't let it get to you down. There's plenty of guidance out there to help you:

What to do when someone dies: step by step - GOV.UK

What to do when someone dies: step-by-step checklist | Age UK

What to do after a death - Citizens Advice

Why didn’t you just scroll past instead of appointing yourself the thread police and announcing that to everyone ?