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.

Busy body

OP I’m so sorry, this must be difficult to deal with.

there’s a guide on gov.uk that might help. https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies

My friend recently had to deal with family deaths and said the funeral directors were extremely helpful. It can be very costly to arrange a funeral, so bear this in mind.

theres also a government service called Tell Us Once but you need the interim death certificate before you can proceed with that.

if she planned this, I hope she’s left all the paperwork for you to process easily.
Look after yourself

Sorry for your loss.
I’m not sure if it will impact the speed of getting the death certificate but if it was suicide, it could take a long time for them to officially confirm the cause of death via coroner inquest so definitely worth pursuing an interim

Sorry for your loss, it must have been tough. Did your mum leave a will, if so are any executors named, as others have said contact the bank, mortgage lender, utility companies, council, insurers, you may be able to use the tell us once service but the coroners office will know.

The hospital will have a bereavement team who will be able to help you with this.

There’s also www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once

I am so sorry for your loss OP.
If your mum did take her own life it is probable that any life insurance will be void.
Therefore it is best to say the absolute minimum to the mortgage company until after the post mortem and final death certificate is issued.

The coroners office will.give you an interim death certificate OP. They should have told you this already. Then use tell us once. Tell the bank last.

Have you thought how hard that could have been to write that all down? Have you thought that she may not have someone she can really tell how she feels.

Bloody sad.

OP, sorry I can’t offer any practical support, but im so sorry you’re in this position.

this was quite helpful

www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once

No need to have reported it at all. OP has shared what she is happy to share and that is her decision, not yours.

I don't see the background information as particularly identifying anyway.

OP, so sorry for your loss.

With regard to the bank and the mortgage lender, just give each of them a call with as much detail and account/reference numbers as you can find. They all have teams dealing with bereavement and will advise you what to do in your circumstances.

My late parent had a very complex financial footprint. I found going INTO the branch rather than battling through often an offshore contact centre who are trying to follow a script.

If the mortgage is through one of the banks definitely go into a branch.

As others have said you should be able to get an interim? death certificate from the Coroners office. My Mum needed a PM then an inquest (which was 5 months after her death). Only after the inquest did we get the full death certificate. We were able to deal with everyone with just the interim certificate.
So sorry for your loss.

Im sorry for your loss. I work for major bank in the bereavement unit. I also deal with the mortgage side when a customer passes away. This will all depend on which bank your mum has her mortgage with. But for this bank we will accept an interim death certificate/coroners certificate for you to be able to register her death with us. Once you have notified the bank we would place a hold on the mortgage payments for 12 months. (If this is a sole mortgage) to give you time to apply for probate. We will also then advise you of next steps depending on if youre planning to sell the property, repay the mortgage or take out a mortgage in a new name on the property. We won't chase for payments for 12 months and this can be extended upon request. With regards to bank accounts. If she holds less than £25k in them, we will release to the legal next of kin without grant of probate or letters of administration. If a will is held we will release to the executors for any amount under £50k without grant of probate and or letters of administration. With regards to any debt held like credit cards, loans and overdraft. If there are no funds in the estate to repay this we will write it all off. No proof of estate required. You just tell us. Any credit funds can be released to pay for funeral costs including wake, flowers etc. We just need invoices and will pay direct or reimburse with proof of payment. Use the tell us once service when registering her death. It will make your life a lot easier as they will notify everyone of her death. If you have any questions then please don't hesitate to ask. X

Why?

Sorry for your loss. I’ve just had to deal with this - an unexpected death of a healthy person. They suggested a full coroners / post mortem - which we really panicked about how long it would all take. Within 3 days they’d looked at his heart and said it was ‘just’ a massive heart attack. We got a green piece of paper and registered the death 4 days later. The Halifax will, if the mortgage is with them, and even having been given the death certificate and be writing to the ‘estate of the dead person’ they’ll continually harass you day and night - this is despite assurances they won’t.

You can report a death without a certificate I would suggest using the government’s death notification service.

once reported all direct debits will be stopped and the bank will work with the representatives to work on a solution for the mortgage.

Tell Us Once:

https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once

Settld;
www.settld.care/

This isn't true. These days almost all life insurance covers death by suicide, sometimes with a short exclusion period.

I'm sorry for your loss, op.

Thank you. I will ask about this when I go to identify her body next week.

This is really helpful. I didn't know about this at all.

This is the problem, I don't know what to ask.

Actually, I've just realised someone must have reported this as a troll post

Absolutely fuck that. Fuck this. Fuck all if this.

Bless you and your dear mum. I am so sorry for your loss.

I’m so sorry OP and i for one don’t mind the graphic nature of your post (I hate posts being labelled as triggers - we are all adults). Life is like that. It isn’t all rosy lovely and nice it’s often raw and blunt and messy

one thing from your post - your brother living at the house but travelling so presumably he has no job/income and even then may not be allowed to/be able to take over mortgage or bills? The bank whilst they may freeze payments in the interim will ultimately want to know how they are going to be paid - someone taking it over or by house sale so worth understanding those timescales so you have time to get your heads around a long term plan and when you need to have it in place?

I’m so sorry for your loss OP. What an awful shock you’ve had.

Please give yourself some time to process what’s happened and don’t feel that you have to spring into immediate action for anyone.

Do you have someone in real life who can give you a hug and provide ongoing practical support?

Maybe copy and paste some of the links that others have posted in this thread into a notes App on your phone that you can look at later when you’re feeling in a better headspace. Then you don’t have to keep reading some of the less supportive posts.

Please come back and ask questions if you feel stuck.

Look after yourself. <<hugs>>

So sorry for your loss OP. I lost my husband to a heroin overdose. It took ages for the toxicology report to come back but I was able to sort most things out with the interim death certificate.