Do we need to register death with The Gazette? CCJs

[LaraWearsZara]

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

You are not legally required to place advertisements, but it is safest to advertise in the Gazette, your FIL's local newspaper and, if he owned a property, the local newspaper for the area where the property is situated. These adverts should run for at least two months. If the executors don't do that, they could be held personally liable for any debts that emerge after the estate has been distributed. Note that the cost of these advertisements comes out of the estate.

For clarity, since it seems your FIL's estate may be insolvent, you must first pay any secured creditors (provided your FIL still holds the asset used to secure the debt), then funeral expenses and the expenses of administering the estate, including any advertisements, before anyone else gets paid. It is important that debts are paid off in the correct order.

The £6000 wasn't legally your SIL's to hand over. It's your FIL's money - and any debts and costs are paid from that money, before anyone inherits anything.

I can't give advice on the ads, sorry. Hopefully someone will know.

Sorry - just noticed that your SIL has already distributed the £6,000. As the previous poster says, nothing should have been distributed until all your FIL's debts had been paid.

The life insurance may not be part of the estate. If it was written in trust, the life insurance company can decide who gets that money and it is not part of your FIL's estate. If that is the case, your husband and his sister will need to settle any debts from the money your sister has distributed. Ideally, they should both put their money into an executors account and use that to pay for the advertisements and pay off any debtors. If they don't, they could be personally liable for your FIL's debts.

Please follow the advice in this thread and ignore your one in AIBU which has lots of errors.

As your FIL died intestate (ie without a will) SIL or DH should apply for letters of administration so they can deal with his estate. I'm assuming you are England and wales but this link also helps if you are in Scotland.

www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

As PP said there is a priority order for debts so they need to be paid in correct order from the estate. The money for notices comes out of the estate.

I think DH and SIL should pay the £6000 into a separate bank account for payment of debts of the estate and only share out what is left at the end. Clearly this could be nothing.