Debt responsibility following a death

[joe7777]

I had POA(not registered) for my mother who instructed me not to pay a bill as she contested it..She died before the matter was settled.
I am executor and probate is ongoing.I have told the creditor that i will consider the invoice once probate is completed.
However the creditor has filed a small claims court case against me personally and I'm named as the " Defendant". Ive had to lodge a defense which i find distressing and is taking a lot of my time..im now awaiting a court date..
from what ive read an Executor isnt responsible personally for debts so how is this case going ahead.

I never signed any agreement or entered into any financial agreement with the creditors personally and only ever signed anything as POA for my mother on her behalf.
Surely an Executor is not financially responsible personally for debts.
Any one got any advice or been in a similuar situation?

[PallasAthena]

POA is now of no relevance as POAs automatically expire on the death of the donor so it is no longer valid.

As Executor you are responsible for paying your late mother's debts out of the Estate. You are correct that as Executor you are not personally responsible your mother's debts.

The creditor has issued court proceedings against the wrong defendant. It should have been against the Estate I believe. Hopefully one of the experts on court procedure will be able to advise you more specifically on what you should do now.

It occurs to me though that the creditor might simply reissue the claim against the correct defendant so you will have to deal with it anyway eventually. So you need to decide what you are going to do about the claim against the Estate. While it would be understandable to want to respect your mother's wishes not to pay it you, as Executor, now have the legal responsiblity of deciding whether the creditor is legally entitled to the sum they are claiming. If your mother would have had a defence against the court claim then as Executor you can also defend it on the same grounds.

You say you have already lodged a defence. What was your defence? It would be helpful to have a timeline of where you have got to in the court proceedings.

How long ago was your mother's death? The creditor seems very quick off the mark to have issued proceedings already when you haven't even got Probate yet. I wonder if he followed all the Pre-Action Protocols correctly?

[joe7777]

Thats very useful thanks.I've got to the point of sending my N 180 to the court and a written reg post copy to the creditor. i've not had their copy yet tho the deadline was a month ago. So we await the court acknowledgement and date of hearing and location.
My defense is that I was POA and am now Executor.The claim was for a stained carpet in a NH That staim was not there when my Mother was moved from their home.I have a witness to that.They priduced a photograph taken 11 days after Mum left the home as evidence.No receipts of alledged carpet replacement ,no receipts for alledged professional cleaning attempts .My mother was unable to walk,wheelcgair bound and needed help eating and drinking.So I defended the claim as she herself was adamant she did not cause the damage in the picture and i saw no damage absolutely.
My concern is there is little money in the estate and when funeral costs legal fees etc are paid there will be nothing left to pay this claim.So I guess if as Executor Im not personally liable fir the debt this court case seems a waste of time.The creditors know probate is ongoing but i guess they'll be unaware there's no money. but I cant formally tell them this until probate is complete.My mother died in October .

[PallasAthena]

What's an NH?

If it's nursing home, presumably a privately run one, was your mother self funding or were her local council paying? If the latter did the council commission the placement at the NH? If so possibly it's the council he should be presenting the bill to? If he is basing his claim on a term of the contract then it's a key question who the contract is with, your mother personally or the council who commissioned the place.

How much is the claim for?

What you describe seems way short of what I'd call adequate evidence to prove the claim, but I'm not a lawyer.

And you'd think that getting a stain on the carpet in a NH for elderly people who are unable to walk, are wheelchair bound and need help eating and drinking might be inevitable and not evidence of negligence or whatever the NH is claiming.

And what sort of stain could be caused in a NH that's so bad professional cleaners couldn't remove it?

What does the contract between your mother and the NH (assuming there is one) say about damage?

I'd be interested to know what the lawyers think atticus R0b

[PallasAthena]

When I was Executor to an elderly relative their estate was very small I advised all the creditors that the debts of the estate might exceed its assets and the estate might therefore be insolvent. I wouldn't know until all the financial information was was complete and I had Probate. So no-one was getting paid anything yet.

Most of them I never heard from again. One was particularly pushy and thretening to sue. I pointed out to him that if the estate was insolvent there are strict rules an Executor must follow, effectively that all debts are paid pro-rata**, and that I was not permitted to pay his claim in full ahead of other creditors.

** Edit: It's actually a bit more complicated than that, but that's the general principle

[Pezza54]

Hi Joe
in your first post you said you would consider the invoice once probate completed. Have you seen the invoice? If you have what was it for? If you haven't, did the NH say what it was for?
Carpets that aren't stuck down are normally regarded as contents and accidental damage insurance is required to cover stains etc. It is difficult to conceive the carpets in a NH aren't stuck down because of possible trip hazard and that the NH hasn't taken out accidental damage insurance.
What sort of a NH sues a close relative of a deceased person for damage to a carpet? Can you imagine the bad publicity if it became headlines in a local newspaper.
The potential loss of future income could far outweigh the cost of a carpet.