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.

Bromptotoo · Today 14:12

The sort of solicitors who chase debts are the rudest and most unprofessional members of the legal profession I have ever had the misfortune to experience..

oh don’t be daft. Often the person / business they’re chasing has done a number on their client

I suggest looking up the Solicitors to see if they are a properly registered firm

There have been cases recently of Solicitors Letters from people pretending to be solicitors who are not.

If so report

I feel for you OP.
I had similar regarding my Mum (57)
I lost my lovely Mum this March and she didn’t have an estate or assets etc. so they came chasing me for debts.
I’m pregnant and I was organising my Mum’s funeral myself.
I received the most disgusting letter threatening me with CCJs, fines and imprisonment.
Me in my pregnant/grieving rage invited them to the funeral, I said come to the funeral to ask me for the money and I’ll tell you exactly where you can fucking find it.
I eventually received a response from them with their apologies and they haven’t contacted me since.

You owe these people nothing. Not a thing.

They cannot sue someone or take them to court if they are dead.

I suspect that this is not an actual law firm sending you these letters, and that they are actually a debt collection firm.

If you know the name of the firm of undertakers who are chasing the debt, then maybe write to them saying that a letter has been sent to Mr .... at your address, and you regret to inform them that he is deceased, copy death certificate attached.

Who inherited his dad’s estate ? They should be paying this debt

It's confused me too. Which funeral. I read the OP twice.

Funeral expenses are supposed to be deducted from the estate before it is distributed to the beneficiaries.

As pp said - send them the death certificate. They can register a CCJ against his name if they want to. Much good may it do them.

Well I don't suppose the partner expected to die and leave the problem to someone else, did he?

Anyway, people can still have a job and be earning money yet have very little in the way of concrete assets such as life insurance, investments or property.

Write back with a copy of the death cert (and keep a copy of the letter). Any letters addressed to your late partner after this, send them back.

If they keep contacting you, inform the SRA that they are harassing you.

It's an irrelevant question. You cannot inherit someone's debts. No doubt he would have paid the undertaker's bill if he'd still been alive to do so. Since he too is now sadly deceased, the debt died with him.

I am not a solicitor so get legal advice but his death in service MAY form part of his estate in which case any debts are payable from his estate. His father’s funeral fees are payable from his father’s estate, if there were funds they are a priority debt so payable before other outstanding bills. It isn’t however your responsibility, it’s whoever inherited the executor duties following your partners death. Do you even know if your partner had received funds from his fathers estate by the time of his death (not necessarily likely)

As the OP received a Death in Service payment presumably her DP was in employment at the time of his sudden death. So he will have been able to make payments towards the costs of his father's funeral from his salary.

OP, you are not responsible for the debt. A ccj would be in the debtor’s name ie your partner’s. They would have to first go to court for a ccj to be issued. The court would write to him first. Bailiffs cannot take items that do not belong to the debtor. Bailiff’s give you notice that they are turning up. The poster upthread is wrong, they cannot just randomly turn up and start packing items into a van. When you show them a death certificate they will leave, that’s even if it gets to that stage.

The process for small claims is a pain in the backside, even if a solicitor is involved. Write to the solicitor telling them that your partner is deceased and died without any assets. I would send a copy to the funeral directors as well and send them by tracked post. The solicitor doesn’t care if you are able to pay, they have a financial interest in sending letters and filling in forms for clients! The client/ funeral director will realise there is no value in chasing you for payment. DO NOT mention his mother.

I have recently been through this but as the claimant and 2 years down the line I still don’t have my money and the defendant is alive!

Condolences on your bereavement and sorry to see you having to go through this as well as grieve. Good luck.

Provide (email and post) a copy of the death certificate- out of courtesy not legal obligation you are advising them there was no probate as no estate, there was no will therefore no executor therefore it is an insolvent estate.

Any further correspondence will be returned unopened and marked deceased

I would return the letter and tell them your DP is deceased.

Once more with feeling:

The OP's partner was paying for his father's funeral.

The OP's partner then died himself, leaving his father's funeral not paid in full.

A solicitor, under instruction from the funeral director who did the OP's partner's father's funeral, is chasing the OP's deceased partner for the debt of the funeral of his deceased father.

Hope that helps.

Can I clarify?

your partner father died. He had no assets? He had no WILL and was therefore intestate? If so had that already gone through office of probate with you partner applying and receiving the “grant of letters of administration “? How was his father funeral paid for therefore? I find it hard to understand why it hadn’t been chased a long time before between the may and august of following year…sure getting grant of letters of admin takes time if your partner had idientfiedna few assets of his fathers to cover the costs. But if his dad had zero in his bank account then why did your partner not pay funeral directors immediately anyway?

then your saying your partner also had absolutely zero in his name. And no Will? Again who is applying for “grant or admin” …or is this still satire out there with no one taking it on? He must have something, including it appears these debts…but also there’s stuff like bills, tax, etc etc to sort out that would all require this.

itnis most certainly not your responsisiblty if not legally in partnership. And as other said Death benefits isn’t in estate as held in trust to you. But this is issue that someone in his biological family will eventually need to sort out even if there is genuinely no money form either estate to even partially settle debts remaining. Unfortunately you trying to protect his family and NOK isn’t going to stop itnhewding to them at some point.

so I’d be passing letter to them. I assume they have death certificate. They ultimately will be saddled with sorting it out.

butnim finding it difficult to understand why son agreed to pay for his fathers funeral, when he aso had no assets and took it on knowing he couldn’t pay. I think he could have applied for help form government if he there was literally no money between the fathers estate and the son.