Partner deceased and solicitor chasing me for debts

[MyfanwyMontez]

My partner died suddenly in August 2024.The previous May , his father died and he took on the role of paying and dealing with the funeral directors .

I have received a letter (addressed to my partner) from a solicitor acting on behalf of the funeral directors informing me of an outstanding debt owing .

My partner had no will , no property because the property was in my name, and no assets. However, I received a death in service payment from his employees . The trustees found in my favour. Does this count as an asset?

I do not want my partner’s family involved in this , they have been through enough already.

Any advice would be appreciated.

You have not received a letter

your deceased partner has

you don’t need to worry about it op. You were not married and they aren’t even aware of your existence. You could ring and inform them he is deceased but even if you don’t… not your problem

I have received a letter (addressed to my partner) from a solicitor acting on behalf of the funeral directors informing me of an outstanding debt owing .

it wasn’t informing you if it was addressed to your partner

I would write and inform them he has died. There is nothing else for you to do.

When you write to them you could send a copy death certificate so that they can look the details up to validate it and then leave you alone

Surely, as funeral directors, they know already that he has died since they directed his funeral!

Whose funeral are you talking about? If it was his fathers’ debt then the debt to the funeral director comes out of his father’s estate, and should be the responsibility of the executor of his father’s estate. Did your partner inherit any money from his father?

Reread the op

As above. Your partner died intestate and with no assets.

You need to let the solicitor and funeral director know that and supply a copy of the death certificate.

Their loss.

They directed his father’s funeral

meant to quote PP

You re-read it - from a solicitor acting on behalf of the funeral directors

The funeral directors have instructed the solicitor.

The estate of his father should pay this so you should redirect to the executors to arrange payment. You could notify the solicitors of your partners death and inform them of the situation. Sorry for your loss.

@FlightCommanderPRJohnson needs a helping hand

can anyone be bothered to explain?

I’m really not sure if the Death in Service payment would be considered an asset, but in the meantime write to the Solicitors telling them that your partner died and send them a copy of the Death Certificate. I take it your Partner was Executor of his Fathers Estate, do you know why the funeral wasn’t paid, were there any other Executors of Father’s Estate, I expect if there were, they may have also received a letter from Solicitors.

No, the DIS sits outside of the estate. It’s not considered for IHT calculations and it’s your money as the beneficiary. I’d return the letter to sender and confirm he’s deceased. I wouldn’t disclose anything more, and if they ask who you are just say that you received this letter at your address. Nothing more nothing less.

Usually funeral expenses come out of the estate before anything else. Who inherited the estate? That person should be followed up for payment. It's odd that it wasn't paid out first.

When I organised a funeral the bank told me they could pay out for the funeral from the deceased bank accounts straight away, even before it was decided who was inheriting. This should have probably happened.

The death in service benefit was not an asset of his, it is in effect an insurance payment made to you by the pension company - it was never his money, so no issue there.

Simply write to the firm of solicitors, appending a copy of the death certificate advising of your DP death and that he died intestate with no assets.

That will be that, they may do some digging with the probate office, but will just reach the same conclusion, the debt died in this case with him.

Sorry for your loss.

I'll add to that, give minimal information, short and sweet, if you were not married don't mention you were a partner, it's irrelevant.

DIS is not part of his estate. If he had no property or other assets - you just tell them he dies with no assets. You do t offer any further info. You don’t apologist. You don’t offer to help somehow. Blunt and to the point is what you need.

if they write to you directly(as you), you then send a letter saying you already informed them of the death, and that further contact will be considered to be harassment and you’ll report them to the SRA.

You should then never hear from them again.

No. The OP was very clear.

Given @FlightCommanderPRJohnson seemed to have shuffled off, I’m guessing she reread slowly and realised her error

Thanks for all those helpful responses. Just to add , my partner didn’t inherit anything from his father and he had no assets or property.

I contacted the solicitor after I had read the letter and told her my partner had died and it was my understanding that if there was no will or assets then I was not responsible for the debt. She said that probate law was not her area of expertise ( ha!)

Also , the funeral directors want to recover legal costs , £150 for writing a letter because apparently they’ve tried to contact my partner several times to discuss .
Obviously , they couldn’t contact him because he’s dead !

I tempted to pay the debt but I really don’t want to pay the legal costs and I think the solicitor and funeral directors should come to some agreement re : legal costs.

As , I say I don’t want my partner’s family involved . His mum is very fragile and will worry herself sick and I get the impression from the solicitor they will make contact with her if I don’t pay .

Here's what I would write:

Dear Sir / Madam (or name)

Re: your letter of // reference

I regret to inform you that Mr. Smith passed away on //. He died intestate and to the best of my knowledge with no assets.

I have obtained a copy of his death certificate which I attach for your information.

Regret I cannot assist further.

Yours Sincerely

*

Of course they will contact her! I assume your partner arranged his father’s funeral. Why wasn’t it paid at the time?

As your partner didn't inherit and there were no assets, then there's no estate for the costs of the funeral to come from.

I'd then ask, who signed the contract with the funeral directors? We had to sign a contract with all costs outlined to receive the services. If it's your partner, then obviously he can't pay, since he's not here to do it.

Don't pay it if it's not yours to pay. I was very firm that I wasn't responsible for my family members debts. Some do like to try it on with family though.

Who signed the contract with the funeral director? That person is who they can go after for the costs. If that's your partner's mother, then she is responsible for the costs.