What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

[Riberaclass]

Sadly my Aunt passed away recently. She had been in a care home for about a year and had been very poorly. As I am her only relative and I no longer live in the UK she had a solicitor who held POA to deal with her affairs. I was advised by them after she died that the POA dies with the person and they could no longer deal with her finances. They said I had to visit their office with proof of identity (passport) and they could arrange to 'administer' my Aunts accounts on my behalf. When I arrived I was told the solicitor I had dealt with was 'no longer' dealing with this and I was seen by another solicitor who said they had been given my Aunt's file 30 mins before I arrived. I was then given a completely different criteria and they could not deal with it without my birth certificate, marriage certificate, my mothers birth certificate & death certificate as my Aunt was my Mother's sister.
My Aunt had no property and only had a current account (which was held at the solicitors office) and two savings accounts. There is not a lot of money in any but I need to sort this out somehow. Do I need a solicitor at all? Can I deal with this myself?
Secondly I need to talk to the care home as apparently there was a problem in getting her funding sorted out (social services!)when she was first there and they were charging her compound interest. They sent me an email two days after she died which just said 'interest' and the amount of £5000 to pay. She was there for less than a year and interest was paid on the o/s amount but this in addition to that. I was going to ask for a copy of their T&C but who would have signed them?? The solicitor had disputed these charges and had not paid them.
Any help would be gratefully received, regards RL

[PriorityOne]

Re: What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

I'm not sure you can deal with anything without a Grant of Probate form, to be honest. POA does die with the person, yes....

As your Aunt has now passed away and there's no assets though, then the debt would have died with her. I can't see how you would be liable for it and I certainly wouldn't be wasting money hiring a solicitor. You've already said that the solicitor disputed the charges anyway....

[PlanB]

Re: What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

Priority One knows a thing or two about care home fees. Read her useful thread and see if that helps

http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/s...ead.php?t=6049

[PlanB]

Re: What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

My Aunt had no property and only had a current account (which was held at the solicitors office) and two savings accounts. There is not a lot of money in any but I need to sort this out somehow. Do I need a solicitor at all? Can I deal with this myself?

I've just read this again. I would be asking for copies of her bank statements from the solicitor so you can see who had been paid what, and more importantly what legal fees the firm has been helping itself to over time Those would have to be justified and you can get their bill assessed as to its reasonableness for the work carried out. If she was overcharged then that'll have to go back into her estate. If she was overcharged her care home fees then that will have to go back into the estate too. I read somewhere that you don't need probate if the estate is under a certain financial limit. I'll see if I can find that post/link

[vint1954]

Re: What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

I've just read this again. I would be asking for copies of her bank statements from the solicitor so you can see who had been paid what, and more importantly what legal fees the firm has been helping itself to over time Those would have to be justified and you can get their bill assessed as to its reasonableness for the work carried out. If she was overcharged then that'll have to go back into her estate. If she was overcharged her care home fees then that will have to go back into the estate too. I read somewhere that you don't need probate if the estate is under a certain financial limit. I'll see if I can find that post/link

It used to be under £5k planb

[vint1954]

Re: What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

Yes, It's £5k

http://www.desktoplawyer.co.uk/dtl/i...e=A76991B77091

[SXGuy]

Re: What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

If she owed the care home 5k when she died, the debt died with her, without an estate to claim on, theres no way for them to recover the debt.

They can "ask" you to pay it, thats all they can do.

If she had been overcharged then any money relciamed would go in to her estate, which of course would then be used to repay any debts, so on balance, it could be better to leave it be.

Can the bank not give you access to her accounts with proof of Id and her death certificate? I dont think it was that hard for me when my father died.

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

I would be very careful here, I think the solicitors are boxing very clever, TBH.
I think they know that the estate is too small to cover her debts, probably including their own fees. Until the point where they no longer work for your Aunt, but get you to appoint them to sort it out...then you are the client and any fees to them for work done on your behalf not covered by the estate will, I believe, be payable by you.

You are totally not liable for your Aunt's debts, that is clear, but could end up with your own bill for their services and nothing in your Aunt's estate to cover it.

I would provide them with proof of your identity sufficient to get the documents out of their hands, but I certainly wouldn't appoint them to act for you until you know the position and unless the estate will cover all your costs and leave you with compensation for your time and trouble too.
If it is a small estate you can easily do it yourself without probate.

On the other hand what's to stop you simply walking away from this if you wished, go home and leave them to it if you stand to gain nothing or even lose money.

[SXGuy]

Re: What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

Undercover Elsa makes a very good point and one i hadnt thought of!

If the solicitors appoint you as their client, they will no doubt stick their fees on to you, which you would then owe! as it stands now, the fees arnt yours to pay, because you are not their client.

Perhaps send them proof of id, with a cover letter expressing that the id is for the sole purpose of receiving the nessersary documents you require, but they are not to be used to be added to their client list.

They may charge a small fee for sending the documents to you, this would be standard practice for any type of agent/solicitor, i wouldnt argue that part of it.

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: What do I do now? Care home fees for deceased relative

Also watch out for them intimating that they need to apply for Probate for you (at additional cost!). If it was needed you can download the application form and apply yourself directly with just the required fee.