An elderly relative of mine aged almost eighty years managed to secure a loan of €40,000 euros six months age. He was retired twenty years ago and was on an income of approx €30,000 euros and he had a dependent spouse. He died very suddenly eight weeks ago and his widow has only just found out about the loan. There is an outstanding balance of €25,000 euros due on this loan and on death the balance in the couples bank account was €35000 of which €7000 was spent on funeral expenses.
I have tried as a near relative to find out details of this loan eg what collateral was given and how could an elderly person be given such a loan without any insurance being taken out. I have not had any of my calls to the bank manager returned.
Could anyone advise what is the normal guidelines for the issuing of loans to elderly people and where should I go from here. i suspect the money was used to purchase shares which have now lost their value. Surely elderly people should receive independent financial advise before embarking on risky ventures like this.