Hi All
I don't know where to post this but i thought this would be the best place so bear with me.
A friend of mine passed away suddenly in hospital last week after going in to receive treatment for a minor illness. While in hospital, she suffered a stroke (unrelated to original illness), which unfortunately led to her death.
Her situation was that she had been co-habiting with her partner for over 28 years. In all senses they were like a married couple, but they never signed that piece of paper.
Now since she has passed, her partner has been left with a minefield of paperwork that he is trying to sort through, e.g. mortgage, loans, credit card debts etc. He has a lot of questions but no one can seem to answer them.
In relation to the mortgage. The mortgage company has advised him that he can put a stop to the standing order for mortgage payments until the mortgage protection policy clears the mortgage. Unfortunately due to the fact that the deceased had to have an autopsy/post mortom, he has been advised that it could take anywhere up to a year to get the death certificate due to the circumstances surrounding the death. The mortgage cannot be settled until the death cert is issued but the interest will still be accumulating on the o/s amount. Is there anyway to stop the interest accruing or will he just have to pay it anyway?
In relation to a loan that she took out in her own name, the banks have told him that he has to pay it, even though it are not in his name and even though he did not guarantee it. They are treating them as if they were married and although the payments came out of a joint a/c in both their names, the loan was ultimately in her name. Does he have to pay this?
Is he entitled to any benefits etc? I know he doesn't qualify for a widowers allowance but the problem is he needs to know if he is entitled to any benefits after paying taxes for the last 25 years. The reason being is that they both have two little girls that they foster. One they have had since she was 7 months old (shes now 2)and the other they have had since she was 3 (shes now 7). Because the deceased is no longer there to provide full time care to the foster kids, he has had to give up work to look after them. These kids are more than likely with him for the long haul and it would break his heart to see them go to another home as they are his kids. I know not in the literal sense but they call him dad and he views them as his children. If the kids got taken away from him, his whole world will fall apart as they are everything to him as he is to them.
So now money is dwindling, no sign of the death cert for approx 1 year, he can't work as he is looking after the kids, he has no benefits as they were not married... i'd really appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction as to how i can help him. He's completely lost and even after spending 3 hours with citizens information, they could not help him as his situation is a very unusual one. They advised him to go back to work but that would mean giving up the kids which he is not prepared to do. And as there is no money coming into the house (apart from childrens allowance), he's said he can't afford a solicitor and i feel so helpless.
Sorry for the long post but any feedback would be appreciated.
RedStix
I don't know where to post this but i thought this would be the best place so bear with me.
A friend of mine passed away suddenly in hospital last week after going in to receive treatment for a minor illness. While in hospital, she suffered a stroke (unrelated to original illness), which unfortunately led to her death.
Her situation was that she had been co-habiting with her partner for over 28 years. In all senses they were like a married couple, but they never signed that piece of paper.
Now since she has passed, her partner has been left with a minefield of paperwork that he is trying to sort through, e.g. mortgage, loans, credit card debts etc. He has a lot of questions but no one can seem to answer them.
In relation to the mortgage. The mortgage company has advised him that he can put a stop to the standing order for mortgage payments until the mortgage protection policy clears the mortgage. Unfortunately due to the fact that the deceased had to have an autopsy/post mortom, he has been advised that it could take anywhere up to a year to get the death certificate due to the circumstances surrounding the death. The mortgage cannot be settled until the death cert is issued but the interest will still be accumulating on the o/s amount. Is there anyway to stop the interest accruing or will he just have to pay it anyway?
In relation to a loan that she took out in her own name, the banks have told him that he has to pay it, even though it are not in his name and even though he did not guarantee it. They are treating them as if they were married and although the payments came out of a joint a/c in both their names, the loan was ultimately in her name. Does he have to pay this?
Is he entitled to any benefits etc? I know he doesn't qualify for a widowers allowance but the problem is he needs to know if he is entitled to any benefits after paying taxes for the last 25 years. The reason being is that they both have two little girls that they foster. One they have had since she was 7 months old (shes now 2)and the other they have had since she was 3 (shes now 7). Because the deceased is no longer there to provide full time care to the foster kids, he has had to give up work to look after them. These kids are more than likely with him for the long haul and it would break his heart to see them go to another home as they are his kids. I know not in the literal sense but they call him dad and he views them as his children. If the kids got taken away from him, his whole world will fall apart as they are everything to him as he is to them.
So now money is dwindling, no sign of the death cert for approx 1 year, he can't work as he is looking after the kids, he has no benefits as they were not married... i'd really appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction as to how i can help him. He's completely lost and even after spending 3 hours with citizens information, they could not help him as his situation is a very unusual one. They advised him to go back to work but that would mean giving up the kids which he is not prepared to do. And as there is no money coming into the house (apart from childrens allowance), he's said he can't afford a solicitor and i feel so helpless.
Sorry for the long post but any feedback would be appreciated.
RedStix
Last edited: