utterbliss
GSM You have made it much clearer for me. I have already paid for the funeral. I hope there will be enough to cover that.
Do you know if the equity release company and car finance people can claim the debt to them before I could claim the amount I paid for the funeral?
In other words do they have more power than I as the only beneficiary of the will?
I’m afraid the equity release company has first call on the estate. After that come funeral expenses and the costs of getting probate. The car loan company comes after this, assuming that the loan wasn’t secured on the house. If it was then their position in the pecking order jumps up ahead of funeral expenses.
I hope this helps. Have you been able to go through his post and papers yet to see if there are other debts? Loans, overdraft, unpaid utility and tax bills? Any money owed to the tax man has to be paid ahead of things like the car loan.
If an estate is insolvent (debts exceed assets) it’s vital to pay the debts in the right order or the executor is personally liable for getting it wrong and the debts which should have been paid ahead of others, but weren’t, can be claimed from the executor. However you aren’t an executor until probate has been granted so until then you have no liability to anyone.
As you can see this is a potential minefield so I urge you again to see a solicitor for your own protection. If you obtain probate yourself you will be personally responsible if you don’t repay the debts in the right order. I can only say that I wouldn’t take that risk.