After Someone Dies

Chapter 12 — Identifying Debts and Liabilities

An estate cannot safely be distributed until its debts, taxes and other liabilities have been identified and dealt with.

The family does not normally inherit the deceased's debts personally. The debts are paid from the estate. Personal liability can arise, however, where somebody was a joint borrower or guarantor, entered into a contract personally, or where a personal representative distributes the estate without making proper provision for liabilities.

The task is therefore wider than collecting bills. The personal representatives must search for known and possible claims, verify what is genuinely due, distinguish the deceased's liabilities from later estate expenses and stop if the estate may be insolvent.

Build a liability schedule immediately

Create a master liability schedule alongside the asset schedule.

For each possible debt, record:

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<w:left w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"/><w:bottom w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"/><w:right w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"/><w:between w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"/></w:pBdr><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"/><w:spacing w:after="60" w:before="0" w:line="271" w:lineRule="auto"/><w:ind w:left="340" w:right="0" w:hanging="227"/><w:jc w:val="left"/><w:rPr/></w:pPr><w:r w:rsidDel="00000000" w:rsidR="00000000" w:rsidRPr="00000000"><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:ascii="Georgia" w:cs="Georgia" w:eastAsia="Georgia" w:hAnsi="Georgia"/><w:b w:val="0"/><w:bCs w:val="0"/><w:i w:val="0"/><w:iCs w:val="0"/><w:smallCaps w:val="0"/><w:strike w:val="0"/><w:color w:val="000000"/><w:sz w:val="20"/><w:szCs w:val="20"/><w:u w:val="none"/><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"/><w:vertAlign w:val="baseline"/><w:rtl w:val="0"/></w:rPr><w:t xml:space="preserve">the date and method of payment.

Do not enter an estimated amount as a settled liability. Mark it clearly as provisional until the creditor confirms the position.

Search for debts as carefully as assets

The same records used to find assets can reveal liabilities.

Review:

<w:left w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"/><w:bottom w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"/><w:right w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"/><w:between w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"/></w:pBdr><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"/><w:spacing w:after="60" w:before="0" w:line="271" w:lineRule="auto"/><w:ind w:left="340" w:right="0" w:hanging="227"/><w:jc w:val="left"/><w:rPr/></w:pPr><w:r w:rsidDel="00000000" w:rsidR="00000000" w:rsidRPr="00000000"><w:rPr><w:rFonts w:ascii="Georgia" w:cs="Georgia" w:eastAsia="Georgia" w:hAnsi="Georgia"/><w:b w:val="0"/><w:bCs w:val="0"/><w:i w:val="0"/><w:iCs w:val="0"/><w:smallCaps w:val="0"/><w:strike w:val="0"/><w:color w:val="000000"/><w:sz w:val="20"/><w:szCs w:val="20"/><w:u w:val="none"/><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"/><w:vertAlign w:val="baseline"/><w:rtl w:val="0"/></w:rPr><w:t xml:space="preserve">subscriptions or contracts that may continue after death.

Search unopened post and keep monitoring incoming correspondence. A final bill or claim may arrive months after the death.

Notify known creditors

Tell each known creditor that the customer has died. Use the organisation's bereavement team where available.

Provide only the documents and personal information reasonably required. Ask the creditor to:

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Notification is not an admission that every amount claimed is correct.

Do not promise a payment date before the estate's assets, tax and overall solvency are known.

Verify every claim

A demand for payment should be checked, even if it comes from a familiar organisation.

Ask for statements, contracts, invoices, court orders or other evidence showing:

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Compare the claim with the deceased's records and bank statements. Check for duplicate demands, continuing charges after cancellation, misapplied payments and sums incurred by another person.

If a debt has been sold to a collection agency, ask it to prove its authority and provide the underlying account information.

Do not send money to account details supplied in an unexpected email without verifying them independently.

Sole debts

A debt in the deceased's sole name is normally a claim against the estate, not against the relatives.

If the estate has sufficient funds, a valid debt is paid during the administration. If the estate has no money, the creditor may receive nothing. A relative does not have to pay merely because they are next of kin or a beneficiary.

Relatives should not sign a new agreement, accept personal responsibility or make a token payment from their own money without understanding the effect.

Joint debts

Joint borrowing commonly makes each borrower liable for the whole debt, not merely half. The lender may therefore pursue the surviving borrower for the outstanding balance under the agreement.

The estate's position depends on the contract, the purpose of the borrowing, ownership of the related asset and the relationship between the borrowers. A surviving borrower who pays everything may have a claim against the estate in some circumstances, but that should not be assumed.

Obtain the agreement and legal advice where the amount is substantial or the surviving borrower and estate disagree about responsibility.

A joint bank account in credit and a joint loan are separate issues. The way one passes does not automatically decide the other.

Mortgages and secured lending

A mortgage or secured loan remains attached to the property or asset. Death does not remove the lender's security.

Notify the lender promptly and request:

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Keep the lender informed where the property will be sold. Interest can continue, so unnecessary delay reduces the estate.

Do not assume that a life policy will clear the mortgage. Confirm the policy, beneficiary, amount and payment route.

If a beneficiary wants to retain the property, they may need the lender's consent and finance in their own name. The estate should not transfer the property while leaving an unresolved secured liability.

Credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans

Notify the provider and stop further use of cards and credit facilities.

Ask for the closing balance and check whether interest or charges continue. Review transactions around the date of death for payments made by another cardholder, subscriptions, fraud or refunds still due.

An additional cardholder is not necessarily a joint borrower, but the account terms must be checked. They must stop using the card once the main cardholder has died.

Look for loan-protection insurance, particularly where the agreement was taken out with a bank, retailer or vehicle-finance provider.

Household bills and service contracts

Electricity, gas, water, Council Tax, telephone, internet, television, alarm monitoring and other services may produce final bills or continue as estate expenses.

Take meter readings and identify the date up to which the deceased was personally liable. Charges required to protect and administer the property after death should be recorded separately as administration expenses.

Do not cancel essential services before checking the insurance and property needs. Equally, do not allow unnecessary subscriptions to continue because nobody reviewed the bank statements.

Ask providers to close, transfer or place accounts into an appropriate estate arrangement. Do not put accounts into a relative's personal name by default.

Rent, service charges and leasehold liabilities

If the deceased rented their home, the tenancy and rent liability do not necessarily end on the day of death.

Notify the landlord or housing provider, obtain the tenancy agreement and confirm the legal end date, notice requirements, access arrangements, deposit and final rent. Do not hand back keys or surrender the tenancy before authority and the treatment of the contents are clear.

For leasehold property, obtain up-to-date statements for ground rent, service charges, reserve-fund demands, insurance and major works. Ask whether further charges have been approved but not yet billed.

Apportionment between seller and buyer may be dealt with on a later sale, but the estate still needs to record the liability accurately.

Tax owed by the deceased

The estate may need to settle Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax or other personal tax liabilities up to the date of death.

Notify HMRC through the appropriate route and gather tax returns, P60s, pension statements, rental accounts and business records. A final Self Assessment return may be required.

The deceased may instead be entitled to a refund. Do not assume that earlier tax deductions mean the position is complete.

Inheritance Tax is a separate estate liability and is covered in Chapter Fifteen. Tax on income and gains arising during the administration belongs to the estate's later tax period and should be recorded separately.

Use an accountant or tax adviser where there was a business, rental income, foreign income, trusts, substantial investments or incomplete returns.

Benefit and pension overpayments

Payments can continue after death before the relevant department or pension provider is notified.

Do not spend or distribute money that may have been paid for a period after entitlement ended. Record the payment and ask the organisation whether it is repayable.

The Department for Work and Pensions may write to the personal representatives seeking repayment of an overpaid benefit from the estate. It should explain how the amount was calculated and why it arose.

Check the calculation, dates and benefit involved. If it appears wrong, ask for an explanation or review rather than paying automatically.

Occupational and private pension providers may also reclaim payments made after death, depending on whether payments were made in advance or arrears and on the scheme rules.

Care fees and local-authority claims

Care homes, home-care providers and local authorities may issue final invoices or adjustments after death.

Check the contract, attendance records, funded-care arrangements, personal-expense allowance, deposits and payments already made. Ask for a full breakdown where the claim is unclear.

Deferred-payment agreements secured against property require particular attention. Obtain the agreement, charge details and redemption figure.

A local authority may also reassess earlier contributions or funding. Do not accept a substantial retrospective claim without advice where the basis or calculation is disputed.

Funeral costs

The person who instructs the funeral director may enter into the funeral contract personally, even though reasonable funeral expenses are commonly paid or reimbursed from the estate.

Agree who is giving instructions, what has been ordered and how it will be paid. Keep the invoice and receipts.

Banks will often pay a funeral director directly from the deceased's account before a grant, subject to their procedure and available funds. This does not mean every related expense will be accepted automatically.

Keep the cost proportionate to the estate. Expensive extras agreed by one relative may create disagreement if the estate is small or insolvent.

Funeral expenses can receive special treatment in the order of payment, but what is reasonable and properly payable can depend on the circumstances. Seek advice if funds are limited.

Administration expenses

Expenses incurred after death in collecting, protecting and administering the estate are not the same as the deceased's lifetime debts.

They may include:

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Record who authorised each expense, why it was needed and how it was paid. Keep invoices and receipts.

Personal representatives should not assume that every cost they choose to incur will be reimbursable. Work that mainly benefits one person, unnecessary improvements or unrecorded cash payments may be challenged.

Private and family loans

A relative or friend may claim that the deceased owed them money. Treat the claim respectfully but apply the same verification as for a commercial creditor.

Ask for:

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Do not reject a genuine debt merely because it was informal. Equally, do not pay it merely because the claimant is a close relative or executor.

Where the claimant is also a personal representative, the conflict should be disclosed and independently reviewed. Mediation may help if the evidence is incomplete and family relationships are deteriorating.

Guarantees and contingent liabilities

The deceased may have guaranteed a business loan, tenancy, mortgage or another person's borrowing.

A guarantee can create a claim even if the main borrower is still paying. Obtain the signed document and ask the creditor to confirm whether the guarantee remains enforceable after death and whether any amount is currently due.

Other contingent liabilities may include ongoing litigation, tax enquiries, warranties, indemnities, business obligations and claims that have not yet been quantified.

Record the maximum possible exposure and obtain legal advice. Do not distribute the estate without retaining an appropriate reserve or resolving the risk.

Business debts

For a sole trader, business debts are generally debts of the individual and must be considered in the estate.

A company is a separate legal person. Its debts are not automatically the deceased shareholder's personal debts, although personal guarantees, director's loan accounts or wrongful use of company money may affect the estate.

A partnership agreement and partnership law may determine responsibility for partnership liabilities and what happens on death.

Secure the records, stop unauthorised trading and involve an accountant and solicitor promptly. Payroll, tax, leases, customer deposits and employee claims can require urgent action.

Disputed debts

Do not ignore a claim merely because the family disagrees with it.

Write to the creditor stating which part is disputed and why. Request the documents needed to investigate and ask it to suspend collection activity while the issue is reviewed.

Keep communications factual. Do not admit liability, make accusations or negotiate informally on behalf of the estate without authority.

Consider the value of the claim, the evidence, legal costs and the effect of delay. Mediation or a sensible compromise may protect the estate better than prolonged litigation, but the personal representatives must still act in the beneficiaries' overall interests.

Take legal advice where proceedings have begun, limitation is disputed, fraud is alleged or settlement could affect other creditors.

Unknown creditors and statutory notices

Even a careful search may miss a creditor.

Personal representatives can consider placing statutory notices under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925. These are normally published in the Gazette and, where appropriate, in a newspaper circulating in the area connected with land in the estate.

The notice invites claims within the required period before distribution. If the procedure is followed correctly, it can protect personal representatives from personal liability to certain unknown claimants when they distribute. It does not make a valid debt disappear or prevent a creditor from pursuing assets still held or recipients in circumstances allowed by law.

The wording, placement and timing matter. Obtain professional advice, particularly where property, business interests or possible claims are involved.

Do not treat a statutory notice as a substitute for contacting known creditors or investigating obvious evidence.

Check whether the estate is solvent

Compare realistic asset values with all known and potential liabilities, including tax, secured lending, funeral costs and administration expenses.

Warning signs of insolvency include:

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If insolvency is possible, stop paying non-essential claims and do not distribute anything to beneficiaries.

Insolvent estates require a strict order

An insolvent estate is not administered in the same way as a solvent estate.

The law sets an order for paying expenses and debts. Personal representatives cannot choose to pay a relative, preferred supplier or demanding creditor first. Paying the wrong person can make them personally liable and reduce what should have been available to higher-priority claims.

Do not rely on the payment order used in an ordinary solvent estate. Obtain specialist insolvency and probate advice before making payments, selling assets subject to security or agreeing settlements.

Beneficiaries receive nothing from an insolvent estate unless all liabilities with priority have been satisfied.

Do not distribute too early

An estate can appear comfortably solvent and still face a later tax bill, care-fee adjustment, guarantee claim or unknown creditor.

Before paying legacies or residue, the personal representatives should be satisfied that:

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Interim distributions may be possible in a clearly solvent estate, but the decision and calculation should be documented. Take advice where uncertainty remains.

Liability checklist

1. Create one master schedule for every known and possible liability.

2. Search statements, post, contracts, tax papers and business records.

3. Notify known creditors and request date-of-death balances in writing.

4. Verify the agreement, calculation, security and identity of the person liable.

5. Distinguish sole debts from joint borrowing and guarantees.

6. Keep mortgages and other secured debts under active review.

7. Separate lifetime debts from later administration expenses.

8. Check tax, benefit, pension, care-fee and local-authority claims.

9. Record funeral costs and who entered into the contract.

10. Require proper evidence for private and family loans.

11. Identify guarantees, litigation and other contingent liabilities.

12. Dispute incorrect claims in writing and preserve the evidence.

13. Consider statutory creditor notices before distribution.

14. Compare all liabilities with realistic asset values.

15. Stop payments and obtain advice if the estate may be insolvent.

16. Retain an appropriate reserve and do not distribute too early.

Careful debt checking protects both the estate and the family. It ensures that genuine creditors are paid, incorrect demands are challenged and beneficiaries receive only what is truly available.

Once the asset and liability searches are under way, the personal representatives can begin obtaining proper values for the deceased's possessions.

The next chapter explains how to value household contents, jewellery, collections and other personal items for probate and sale.

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About Harry Georgiou

Harry Georgiou is the owner of Swifty Clearances, a waste clearance business. He writes about responsible waste disposal, fly-tipping prevention, and the practical steps households and businesses can take to avoid inadvertently funding illegal waste operations.

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Chapter 12 — Identifying Debts and Liabilities

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