Money claim arrived against my deceased husband - what do I do?

[Guest]

My husband passed away 6 months ago, and I am dealing with his estate. I had a section 27 notice placed in the London Gazette and the local paper, and the deadline for creditors to make claims passed in July. The estate has not yet been distributed as I am dealing with one very slow matter that may take another 6-9 months.

Last week I suddenly received a Money Claim from a creditor who has not contacted my late husband at all since he died, and clearly does not know about his death. It is an online claim, and it gives 14 days to reply, or a default judgement will be issued.

What do I do? Do I defend the claim with my name (as the administrator of the estate)? The issue is that I do not know what this debt is for and did not find any related invoices. Or do I quote Section 27? Can I even defend it on my late husband's behalf?

I have been phoning MoneyClaim helpdesk but they keep saying this is not the correct number, and send me to another number that also replies saying this is not the correct number for this type of questions. I have not received any reply to my email either. I am worried that I am running out of 14 days' time. Please does anyone know what is the correct thing to do?

[MIKE770]

Peridot67

[MIKE770]

Amethyst

[Peridot]

Hi,

How frustrating. As I'm sure you're aware the s27 notice protects the executor from being personally liable for any debt not raised during the notice period but doesn't prevent the creditor pursuing the beneficiaries of the estate after distribution even if they did not come forward in the notice period.

I would suggest that you contact the Court and let them know that the Defendant (your husband) passed away some six months ago and that a section 27 notice was placed in May and has now expired. They won't give you legal advice but may give you some pointers.

Do you know how much the debt is for? This should be on the claim form. Would the sum make a significant dent in the estate? You will need to contact the Defendant and let them know they have issued a claim against a deceased person. If you are the residuary beneficiary of the estate then the Claimant may well reissue the claim. You need to know exactly what this is for however and see the documentation they have confirming the debt can be pursued. I would suggest not making any indication of how you will be dealing with this at this stage come back here once you have some further information.

You need all the information about the alleged debt first so that you can see if this is a genuine debt that requires dealing with or if you have any other options here.

Would it have been unusual for your husband to have a debt that you were unaware of? You mention you have not received or found any documentation relating to the debt n your husband's papers since he died. So it would appear that this company have not contacted you (your husband) in at least 6 months. Do be aware however that companies can sell their debts to other companies who then pursue the debt so that may be a reason for not recognising the claim.

Others may be along with their thought too. Amethyst

[Amethyst]

Oh goodness, Moneyclaim are completely rubbish. I'm sorry to hear of your loss. It does sound like you have done everything right regards the creditors by placing the notice and they simply haven't picked it up.

Is the claim from Northampton CCBC or Salford ?
What is the issue date ?
Who is the claimant ?
Does it state in the particulars of claim who the original creditor / agreement was with ?

First thing is to write to the Claimant and the Court to inform them that the Defendant in the case has died, include a copy of the death certificate and of the gazette notice. This can be sent with the acknowledgement of service form from the response pack that came from the court.

The Claimant may try to amend the claim to be against the estate - which you can then defend as his personal representative.

Was it these numbers you were given? Should be the first one really but they are a bit pants.

County Court Business Centre (CCBC):0300 123 1056
Money Claim Online (MCOL): 0300 123 1057

[bluedog]

Amethyst

Thank you so much, Peridot. I have just figured out I needed to register in order to post a reply.
I spent 1.5 hours yesterday phoning all Money Claims numbers (the one for Money Claims Amethyst quoted is permanently busy, and Business Centre number is the incorrect number for my questions). I managed to speak to a human being who was able to give some pointers. He basically said to email them the death certificate and explain the situation, which I have already done. Also, that I cannot reply or defend the claim on my late husband's behalf because the claim was not against his estate at this point. So this is exactly what Amethyst has said I think.

The claim is under £1,000, so not large - but he trouble is that I do not know whether this is a valid claim or not. This is allegedly for an unpaid services invoice, but I have not come across an invoice from this vendor when I was going through all his papers looking for potential creditors.

I am also posting the letter and copy of death certificate together with acknowledgement of claim pack, recorded delivery. While I cannot fill the form on his behalf, they advised to send it back together with my letter, so it is clear what the letter relates to.

[Peridot]

Hi Bluedog,

Glad you got through to a human in the end. It is a nightmare trying to speak to someone these days!

The Claimant may well re-issue the claim against the estate at which point you would be defending having no knowledge of the debt and requesting the proof from the claimant as Amethyst indicated.

We can point you in the right direction for the sort of things you need to be requesting, if they do issue a new claim against the estate so feel free to pop back on here.

[Amethyst]

Yes that sounds like a good plan Personally, I would CC the same to the claimants solicitors with a cover note as well as sending it to the court.